“Ku-plink, ku-plank, ku-plunk!”
Blueberries for Sal, Robert McCloskey, 1948
In Northern Ontario where I grew up, wild blueberries were plentiful and the only kind I knew. On summer Sundays when my hardworking dad had a day off from his backbreaking job as a gold miner, we would pack up the car and head to a local lake for some leisure family time. After what seemed like a long hot drive, we would finally arrive at Slab Lake. Full of anticipation, we 3 kids would not be allowed to swim until we had picked our assigned quota of blueberries. Being the youngest, mine would be the smallest vessel to fill. Ku-plink, Ku-plank, Ku-plunk! That did not stop me from trying to sneak some leaves and twigs in my pail so I could get into the lake faster! Those blueberries would be frozen or turned into jam to last us all year. Unlike the beloved Robert McClusky children’s story, I never encountered a bear WHILE I was picking blueberries… Those are tales for another time! I have loved blueberries all my life and they always bring back fond childhood memories. Continue reading