by Amanda Meyer

Summer means two things to me: high country hiking and blueberries. Preferably together.
I love the great Northwest, this is my home. I wasn’t born here, but I feel at home here and this is where I will spend the rest of my days. Each year during the summer time, I feel blessed to be able to enjoy two of the things I love most about the Northwest. In the late summer, when the warm weather has allowed the snow to thaw enough to make for good trail access, and the blueberry bushes have begun to yield beautiful round blueberries, I take to the trails. I am more than ready for the sights and sounds of the high country in the summer time, and as I hike, I go on the search for beautiful, yummy blueberries.
My friends jokingly call me “the blueberry bear.” They say  I become obsessed with finding this specific wild food, and if I am unable to find some, I can take on the ferocity of a bear. I admit I can be intense, but it is an intense love that drives me. Hiking for these blueberries – and views – makes me feel at home, and I want to be there. For me, there is perhaps no better place than being at the top of a beautiful hike, looking down to see the pocket of the world in which I love and thrive, with delicious blueberries nourishing my system.
Maybe it’s a bit childlish of me to act this way. But I find joy, peace and nourishment (both physically and mentally) while doing this.
To be able to experience our natural world at its finest  is an amazing experience. It is, to me, feeling like I am home.
Amanda Meyer lives in Whatcom County. She loves blueberries and hiking, reading, writing, cooking and traveling.