re to go to the very same spot, the mushrooms and berries would perish very quickly, leaving absolutely nothing to be picked and gathered. Until a few decades ago, no one would even tell you how to find them; you would have to learn this from close friends and family, or from tEven though I’m from one of the largest cities in the United States, I have lived in Scandinavia for nearly 30 years. Where I live, there is a very well-known and respected law that says that everyone is free to pick mushrooms and wild berries in the woods and forests. Treasure hunting for these delicacies is a delight and a national past time. Finding a special place that is rich in Chantarelle, a savoury and gourmet mushroom that is golden in color, is liken to finding a deep vein of gold that you can return to season after season and harvest large baskets full. There is even a special word that literally means “the place where wild strawberries grow“ that is used to describe someone‘s favorite little spot. When you tell people that you have found whole baskets full of Chantarelles or have harvested several buckets full of blueberries, you leave out where to find them. These are jealously guarded secrets.

And even from an ecological viewpoint, it is also very important that everyone goes to different woods and different parts of the woods to find these fruits of the earth. If everyone were to go to the very same spot, the mushrooms and berries would perish very quickly, leaving absolutely nothing to be picked and gathered. Until a few decades ago, no one would even tell you how to find them; you would have to learn this from close friends and family, or from tr

hunting for these delicacies is a delight and a national past time. Finding a special place that is rich in Chantarelle, a savoury and gourmet mushroom that is golden in color, is liken to finding a deep vein of gold that you can return to season after season and harvest large baskets full. There is even a special word that literally means “the place where wild strawberries grow“ that is used to describe someone‘s favorite little spot. When you tell people that you have found whole baskets full of Chantarelles or have harvested several buckets full of blueberries, you leave out where to find them. These are jealously guarded secrets.

And even from an ecological viewpoint, it is also very important that everyone goes to different woods and different parts of the woods to find these fruits of the earth. If everyone were to go to the very same spot, the mushrooms and berries would perish very quickly, leaving absolutely nothing to be picked and gathered. Until a few decades ago, no one would even tell you how to find them; you would have to learn this from close friends and family, or from t

baskets full. There is even a special word that literally means “the place where wild strawberries grow“ that is used to describe someone‘s favorite little spot. When you tell people that you have found whole baskets full of Chantarelles or have harvested several buckets full of blueberries, you leave out where to find them. These are jealously guarded secrets.

And even from an ecological viewpoint, it is also very important that everyone goes to different woods and different parts of the woods to find these fruits of the earth. If everyone were to go to the very same spot, the mushrooms and berries would perish very quickly, leaving absolutely nothing to be picked and gathered. Until a few decades ago, no one would even tell you how to find them; you would have to learn this from close friends and family, or from t

of blueberries, you leave out where to find them. These are jealously guarded secrets.

And even from an ecological viewpoint, it is also very important that everyone goes to different woods and different parts of the woods to find these fruits of the earth. If everyone were to go to the very same spot, the mushrooms and berries would perish very quickly, leaving absolutely nothing to be picked and gathered. Until a few decades ago, no one would even tell you how to find them; you would have to learn this from close friends and family, or from t

re to go to the very same spot, the mushrooms and berries would perish very quickly, leaving absolutely nothing to be picked and gathered. Until a few decades ago, no one would even tell you how to find them; you would have to learn this from close friends and family, or from trial and error.

This fall, I was reminded of this fact when on a walk in the woods with a new friend, Li, who is from China, and her son Anton. We stopped and picked the last blueberries and raspberries to be found in the season. With blueberry-stained lips and teeth, Anton smiled gleefully as we meandered and chatted along the path. When we stopped for a while to eat blueberries and raspberries in the wild, she mentioned the fact that her Scandinavian husband kept shishing her and changing the subject when she asked some people where they found their Chantarelles. Her husband kept saying that you can’t ask that question and would change the subject again. And she would repeatedly try to make herself understood: “but I want to know where they found them!” she would ask in a thick Chinese accent, and nobody would answer her. I told her that the reason is because finding Chantarelle and wild berries in the woods is like finding a valuable treasure and is a great favorite past time of many Scandinavians.

The pleasure and satisfaction lies not only in the discovery of your own special Cha