This morning after bringing the old dog back inside, I slipped out for a quick hike back down the hillside. Since he is ailing, there is no purpose served in tiring him with my interests. The hike, itself, was triggered by a glimpse of blossoms down on the east path. I wanted to get a better glimpse of the tiny blooms. A few months back, a friend informed me that the bush in question is called sparkleberry. I had to admit that was a new one to me. He said that the berries are in the blueberry family and are edible even though they are a rather tart or bitter. More to my interest was the fact that they could be used to make jelly and jam. The berries are also known as farkleberries which seems to be a strange name. Sparkleberry, I can understand as the berries are literally shiny and sparkly!
The sparkleberry bush next to the path is actually in a large clump of palmettos. The bush did indeed have thousands of blooms and was also being visited by a good many honeybees and butterflies. This was good but below the low hanging limbs another cluster of buds caught my eye. The palmetto was blooming, too. Ahh, another thing of beauty on such a short hike. The palmetto dates are supposedly edible, as well. I have yet to be able to gather any ripe fruit as the raccoons tend to beat me to them each year. Some day....maybe.
I had to hurry back to reality so the old dog would not have an anxiety attack. If I am absent for any length of time he panics and begins to stumble around the room. My "me time" was over. Duty called.
On my hikes about the hillside and down to the creek bed, I can usually find a ready snack on the trail. Blackberries, huckleberries, wild blueberries, wild persimmons all grow along the marsh edge and in the woods. I have no qualms about grabbing a handful of these as a handy snack but I admit to being leery of just trying any fruit I see. That old saying of better safe than sorry rings true. Today, however, I was happy to find a new snack albeit a sour one to add to my hiking pleasure. Sparkle berries! I had never heard of such until a friend (who I have never met!) mentioned finding them on a hike. Well, if there is a berry that grows here and is edible, I needed to find it, right? So...I searched. In fact, I have been searching for weeks and was in hopes that I would find some before they all dried up and fell from the bush or were all eaten by critters.
This afternoon, my quest was accomplished! I found my sparkle berries! Sure, they looked a bit dry and there were only a few left on the bush but, hey, they were there! But...as I said earlier, I am leery of trying things without a positive identification. So, I sent a photograph to my friend and the berries were confirmed to be sparkle berries. The confirmation came with a lot of pointers on how to identify the berries so I feel quite confident in tasting them. Tomorrow, the berries will be put to a taste test despite warnings from my friend. "They are tart!" My whole thought is that if the berries are there next year, a batch of sparkle berry jelly should be attempted!
Still, regardless of the fact that the sparkle berries may not be as tasty as the huckleberries, I think it is a wise move to learn what is edible and what is not. Ha! If I ever get lost on a hike around the Bayou, I will survive! Snacks abound! Free food for the taking!
