By Robert Lucke
Area Juneberries, or Bear Paw Gold as some call them, are out and ripe for the picking all over the Bear Paw Mountains.
The berry, which is sort of a cross between a huckleberry and a blueberry, only sweeter, is found in most Bear Paw valleys. Beaver Creek Park this time of year is full of ripening Juneberry bushes.
A good rule of thumb is that the ripening process goes from north to south in Bear Paw valleys. The Bear Paw foothills Juneberry crop has already ripened all the way to about midway through Beaver Creek Park. In the Baldy meadow area and higher mountain reaches, bushes are not quite ready at this time.
Area cooks use the sweet berries in pies, jams, jellies, cobblers and syrups.
