I have a tendency to recognize two major events in the calendar. Christmas and strawberry season. Strawberries ripen in early June, so when we they're ready we're half way to Christmas. And when we have our holiday shopping completed, we're half way to fresh strawberries again. That may sound like a strange way to keep time, but Christmas is a time of special joy, and wild strawberries are a real treat to the palate.
Strawberries are in the rose family.
The scientific name is Fragaria virginiana. For those of you who only know strawberries as those huge, supermarket fruits as big as plums, the wild variety would hardly catch your attention. They are small. But their taste and sweetness will blow away anything the supermarket has to offer. That's why I get enthused, if not excited, about finding patches of strawberry blossoms in the spring.