Berries, Jams, Road Trips and Peter Rabbit

So it’s officially Spring. Been that way for five days now. Looking at the clumps of snow still clinging to the ground, you may think otherwise. But really, don’t you feel the chill has lost some of its fizz and it’s nice that the sun is hanging around till dinner time?

Most say Spring is all about flowers, which it is. But it’s also about berries. And those who have the patience to preserve will tell you that berries mean jams, jellies, chutneys, relishes and marmalades. Speaking of which, there’s a place that prides itself on making jam the old-fashioned way and is said to be the “oldest commercial solar-cooking operation in the country.” I wouldn’t mind paying them a visit. If only to squish berries into mason jars and bask in the fruity smell.

The Green Briar Jam Kitchen in Sandwich, Massachusetts is where all this jam-making happens. It is also where the children’s author, Thornton Burgess, lived and wrote his animal capers. Receiver of many accolades, he was also awarded a gold medal by the Boston Museum of Science for “leading children down the path to the wide wonderful world of the outdoors.”

Keeping in mind the preferences of our almost eighteen-month-old toddler, we think it would be a swell spot for a spring/summer road trip. He may like to see the Old Briar Patch where Peter Rabbit (not to be confused with Beatrix Potter’s rabbit with the same first name), Joe Otter, Jimmy Skunk, Spotty the Turtle, Jerry Muskrat, and the rest of the crew roamed. New studies have proved that animals are far more intelligent than we give them credit for. I guess authors like Burgess and Potter knew it all along.