Bittersweet

​Many years ago, Tommy and I always went up to the top of our road to climb over a barbed wire fence to look for Bittersweet berries. It was always cold, and sometimes, it was "spitting" snow.  This morning when I awoke to find the ground covered with snow, I remembered those days.

Sometimes the sun was shining through the red and gold leaves and sometimes it was overcast.  It would not have been the same had it been warm!

After we crossed the barbed wire fence we were in the woods. Our steep climb started almost immediately.  There was no let up until we reached the top.  The leaves were slick and the "saw briars" grabbed and tore at our clothes, face and hands.  The day after, I always found scratches and red spots all over my legs where the briars found their way through my clothing.

When we reached the top of the mountain, we had to find the fence row again, which we had lost in our wandering and weaving in and out of the fallen trees and vines which blocked our way.  When we found the fence, we followed it to the crest of the mountain where tall straight cedar trees reached for the sunlight. There were also dogwoods and evergreens in abundance.

Before looking up into the tall trees to find the Bittersweet, we paused to look at the incredible view below us.

Finally we began looking up into the very tops of the trees where the Bittersweet vine climbs.. The berries are orange and beautiful.  We  got excited when we finally spotted some berries in the very tops of two trees.  One, however, was much too high, and of course the berries were thick and lush in that tree!

Tommy thought he could reach the berries in the other tree, so he started to climb.  He stepped on the rickety fence post and on up into the tree.  As he began to climb upward, the tree began to sway and bend.  I had several anxious moments when I just knew he was going to crash to the ground.  He kept to the task before him and finally reached the berries.

The job wasn't done though.  He had to cut the vine, pull it out and somehow throw it through the branches of the tree to the ground below. He had to do this while maintaining a foothold and holding on with one hand.

We never got a lot of the beautiful Bittersweet berries, because, again, the prettiest berries were too high.  We were content with what we did get, and he began his descent.  After he reached the ground, we headed for home, another successful Bittersweet Berry Hunting Year.

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