Huckleberry Madness II

So after all this work, now its time to really get down to the nitty gritty. Picking huckleberries is rewarding but very tedious. For the first hundred or so berries you hear the loud plunk! as they hit the bottom of your jug. It's better not to look until you don't hear the plunk anymore...As you pick, your fingers turn a lovely shade of purple red, a sure sign of serious huckleberry picking. It's a fundamental mistake to look to far ahead, the bushes always look fuller on the other side of the hill. If you fall into this trap, you'll end up with less berries than your dear husband and he won't let you forget it. It's best to be patient and pick as you go, this way when you do find the 'mother lode' you haven't wasted the last half hour! You can also, in good conscience, gloat loudly about your find without being ashamed about the amount you already have in your jug. This goes along splendidly until about 3:00 pm...this time of day in the mountains is the witching hour. Giant deer flies, (I refer to them as elk flies) come out of no where and start buzzing and biting indiscriminately! Its not like being bitten by a mosquito, while that's bad enough. No, its like someone taking a pair of tweezers and pinching a hunk of flesh from your body! They are nasty critters and no kind of bug spray seems to discourage them. At 3:00 pm, berry picking is over. Now it's time to climb wearily into the truck and argue about who has the fuller jug. I normally do, unless I fell into the 'bigger berries over the hill' trap....Anyway, we head on home for a cold drink and relaxing afternoon. This is when the true madness begins..........