The blueberry is a small, tasty fruit that owes its name to its pretty blue color. It is found in the wild or it can be cultivated. Quite common in North America and Europe, it is a member of the Ericaceae family, like the cranberry.

In the wild, it can be found in large areas of poor, sandy soil, or in very humid places such as peat bogs. It is not demanding but needs space and sun. It can grow up North where it colonizes large areas after fires or logging. Some blueberry bushes can live up to 100 years in suitable habitats.

In the spring, blueberry plants are filled with little white bells that grow in clusters and turn into fruits. These small, round, bluish fruits are harvested in late summer. Bears are also very fond of them and can eat large quantities.

Blueberries are very good for your health. Because it is very sweet and nutritious, it gives a lot of energy to animals and people eating blueberries. It is good for vision and digestion. It is also full of vitamins and antioxidants that protect us from many diseases. 

The First Peoples of North America have long cooked blueberries in many ways: in bannock, a Native American bread baked over an open fire, and in pemmican, a dish made with meat, fat, and wild berries, including blueberries. Pemmican is a food that provides a lot of energy.  As it is a dried food, it can be kept for a long time, without the need of a refrigerator. It is very useful when you go on long trips in the forest or hiking.

The ostrich fern is a beautiful and gracious fern that owes its name to its long ostrich feather-like leaves that can grow from 1 to 2 meters high.

In the spring, when walking along the banks of a stream or a small river, one can sometimes see a strange plant emerging from the ground with pretty green leaves all curled up that look like the tip of a musical instrument, the violin. These young fern leaves are also called fiddleheads. Then, with the sun and warmth of spring, these leaves quickly unfurl and become a beautiful fern that grows in a crown-like pattern on the ground. It does not like to grow alone because it prefers to live as a large family called a colony. 

This fern needs a lot of moisture and some shade to grow; it likes to grow with its feet in the water and out of the sun. When the snow melts in spring, it has everything it needs to grow. It also likes rich soil and moist forests. 

First Nations in Canada and the northeastern United States used to harvest fiddleheads in the spring and cook them for food. Today, fiddleheads are still harvested in April or early May, as they are delicious and full of vitamins. They have a delicate taste reminiscent of asparagus or green beans. At springtime, we wait impatiently for them to come out of the ground, as they are one of the first wild vegetables we can eat, just after the snow melts. But we must make sure to harvest few young leaves on each plant, to protect these ferns and allow them to survive. This way, the next generations will also have the pleasure of enjoying them for a long time!