Red Currant Mother Lode

While on a hunt for high bush cranberries today we discovered the mother lode of wild red currants just down the hill from our condo. At first I only saw a few small plants and thought we'd maybe get a cup or two for a very small but special batch of jelly. Not so! After a few minutes it became apparent that one of us needed to run back to the condo for more containers or bags. We ended up with a gallon of red currants.

I've seen red currants growing wild on mainland Alaska before, but I've never seen them in much abundance. And I've never noticed them before down by the river. There are also tons of high bush cranberries and a few raspberries and trailing raspberries. Living right on a state park, even in a condo, certainly has its perks. And while the lawn maintenance people were mowing the grass around the condos today, I was very happy to be picking berries rather than doing that. The trade off of not having a yard for our lovely view and front-door access to the state park is paying off right now.