Family Traditions

My husband's family has a tradition which takes place in Washington at the base of Mount Adams. It is picking huckleberries.

Every season they converge on the Sawtooth Berry Fields. The past couple years the little berries haven't had the best growing conditions, so the picking has been slim. But this year, the bushes were packed with flavorful, purple berries.

As usual, our pups came along for the adventure. Kona (teal harness) and Coal (red harness) love to be with us and will run ahead to check out the trail and then check back in with us. And when John and I were working on different berry patches, the dogs would run back and forth to make sure we were safe. They have been getting better at their "sit and stay" for me to take their photos. Next up is practicing sitting next to each other to sit and stay.

Since huckleberries are so small, you don't need a very large bucket when you're out picking. And sometimes you have to improvise your bucket, like making holes in a peanuts tin and creating a belt/handle with some parachute cord. Yes, we always carry parachute cord in our rig, we've used it for countless uses: tying up a tarp, securing the dog's crate in the back of our truck, shoelaces, and now for makeshift buckets.

It is some beautiful country out there and would love to find a place like this closer to home for photo sessions. Couldn't you just image the magic in a place like this?

​As always thanks for following along and if you like the photos I've taken, please leave a comment below. And I'd love to know if you've had the chance to enjoy huckleberries!