Earth Almanac: April/June 2003

Blueberry Time

In most of North America there is a delicious pause between spring and summer when those who have been waiting repair quietly to secret places to pick blueberries with beak, muzzle, or fingers. Some blueberry species grow high, some grow low, and all favor forest disturbances. As Robert Frost noted: "But get the pine out of the way, you may burn / The pasture all over until not a fern / Or grass-blade is left, not to mention a stick, / And presto, they're up all around you as thick / And hard to explain as a conjuror's trick." On those fleeting mornings when ripe fruit and dew hang together like sapphires and diamonds, don't miss the chance to take children blueberrying. Note the color of their tongues when they tell you that all the berries went into the pail.

A Fearless Predator

There is no better time for mink watching than now. From the Canadian treeline south across the entire United States, save the driest portions of our Southwest, these efficient predators are on the move. They fear nothing, including you. A mink may chase a muskrat into its burrow, devour it along with its young, then take over the quarters. Or, perfectly aware of your presence, it may run across your feet in pursuit of newly emerged turtles, frogs, and crayfish. Confront a mink up close, however, and you may find yourself wearing vile-smelling musk similar to eau de skunk. In fact, the name mink derives from the Swedish menk, meaning "that stinking animal from Finland." Keep watching and you'll see another side to the mink's personality—playfulness. Like its larger cousin, the otter, it will slide down rocks and slippery banks.