Besides the pleasure of working in many locations, some breathtaking, there's that other area when at certain times of the year the produce landowners give or, well, it's interfering with the line of site and needs thinning. Or something to that effect.
Such niceties as Mulberries. They make a mess but what a delight.
Peaches, nectarines, Greengages, apples, lemons, gooseberries.....
It pays to have a rather empty field bag, pockets etc.
Once we met some ladies walking down from the hills to a community meeting.
When we got back to the vehicle at end of day there was a fruit cake on the front seat, with a note. "From the ladies of the valley".
Fresh cream, some not so fresh, tasting rather like a mix of cream and oil.
Last walnut season was very good and one owner with several trees had so many they piled them up in the corner of the yard and kindly let us help ourselves to "as many as you want".
Not sure how you fare over yonder? Perhaps folks are more prone to watch and nab those that put a foot (hand) out of place?
It's that time of year again, cherries are ripe and apricots coming on. Mm...
Lucky you. About all I ever get are persimmons and that's because the owner wouldn't eat them if they were starving. I love them.
No citrus anywhere near here. Might grab an apple or pear once in a while. BTW, what is a greengage?
Blackberries.
As anyone in the PNW will testify, the only good thing about these scourge to surveying is the short time of year when you can eat your way through them. Even with that I'm still not sure it is worth the joy of hacking through these horny briers that cover the country side and are sometimes 20 feet high.
Other than that, I normally do not eat the gifts provided by the professional camper that call the rail lines near my job sites home.
A load of fresh figs, tree ripened.
Blackberries
Blueberries, huckleberries
Occasionally some Mulberries, and Persimmons.
And, of course, when I get home, my wife is always ready to greet me with a warm kiss. Of course, that would be there even if I was a cow herder, or an astronaut!
The God that made this place has been very kind to me.
Nate
Nothing better than working along the edge of an orchard with apples or peaches that are ready for picking. Encountering patches of blackberries, rasberries or wild strawberries always causes a delay in productivity too.
Or stopping at the local fruit/veggie stand in Farmer Joe's driveway is always fun, as are smoked fish places.
Many years ago I encountered a small patch of that special herb somebody had strategically planted in a very secluded clearing on state land that was getting ready for harvest. I went back a couple days later to go bird hunting in the vicinity and took some back to my gal pal (who likes that stuff) and made some cookies from it since it was too hash for her to inhale. I was tempted for a cookie, but stopped that many years prior.
Greengages like a green plum, round, 30mm diameter, often larger.
Sweet, firm and a taste of their own. Make great jam, stewed but beautiful raw. Must be ripe though.
I'll second the huckleberries although the bears that come with them are not in a good mood because all the branches they eat with the berries gives them diarrhea.
Tops though is wild strawberries; tiny and hard to find but so much tastier than commercial strawberries.