{"id":32,"date":"2008-07-23T15:15:55","date_gmt":"2008-07-23T19:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/?p=32"},"modified":"2008-07-23T15:15:55","modified_gmt":"2008-07-23T19:15:55","slug":"blueberry-forecast-2008","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/blueberry-forecast-2008\/","title":{"rendered":"Blueberry Forecast 2008"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Come July and August Swedes change, and quite visibly even. One look at their hands and fingers and you begin to seriously ponder whether or not you are among madmen. Why? Their fingers are red and purple. Sometimes, their mouths are too.<\/p>\n

Yes, it\u2019s blueberry season! Actually, no. Wait! Technically, it\u2019s \u201cbilberry\u201d in English, Vaccinium myrtillus<\/em> in Latin, and simply \u201cbl\u00e5b\u00e4r<\/strong>\u201d in Swedish. What you guys know as a \u201cblueberry\u201d in the US is in fact Vaccinium cyanococcus<\/em>, a not-so-distant cousin of the European variety.<\/p>\n

Bilberry, blueberry, whatever the name, it\u2019s time to go into the woods and do some serious picking. And then proudly, yet casually at the same time, display your stained fingers the day after. Those purple fingers are like a badge of honor, or a different way to show your national pride. It\u2019s the \u201cI went into the woods, braved being eaten alive by mosquitoes, risked dangerous encounters with wild animals, and all for the love of a small blue fruit<\/em>\u201d way of showing just how Swedish you truly are.<\/p>\n

And this whole blueberry picking thing is a serious business indeed. Just how serious? The very famous and prestigious Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet<\/strong> (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) does scientific research into the matter and publishes a yearly blueberry forecast map. And for the geographically challenged they even prepare the info in a diagram format. Sweet!<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a link<\/a> to the SLU<\/strong> page with the blueberry lowdown in Swedish.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

So, how does the forecast look for the region of Norrland<\/strong> in 2008? Superb! It\u2019s supposed to be the best blueberry-picking season ever. Personally, I can\u2019t wait. I was slightly panicking two days ago, as it was raining and raining and I had the image of soaked and ruined blueberry bushes etched in my brain. But today the weather has improved, it\u2019s nice and sunny, well, nice for Norrland<\/strong> anyway, and I\u2019m looking forward to being eaten alive by mosquitoes in the woods. All in the pursuit of tiny, blue fruits.<\/p>\n

So now let\u2019s say it in Swedish:<\/p>\n