When I moved to Oregon several years ago, I spent my first Summer outings going to pick all sorts of berries. There are kinds I have never even heard of. I am from Colorado, in the mountains, and we had a slim supply of berries there, and when they were available they cost a bundle. Here is it amazing. They are so inexpensive when you pick your own. So my freezer was filled with lots of berries for several years. One particular outing that was really memorable was the first time my family went to see the waterfalls in the area and had a picnic. I brought a bunch of berries along for us to snack on and as we sat and ate, i looked around at the green lush area, with not a bug other than butterflies in sight, and thought… I have just died and gone to berry heaven. I loved it here from that point forward. I was also reminded of other great experiences picking apples outside Saint Louis, Missouri. I picked a ton one year before we left there and made a bunch of apple sauce. Goodness it was wonderful. Now that I have my new knees I really look forward to going out this year to gather all sorts of the area treasures. It seems that here everything grows. I cannot wait. I also will be going out to hike a bunch more too, building up those muscles and trying to shake off that last 8 pounds i need to lose.