Ester Dome, Ester: Picked highbush cranberry in spots the berries weren’t wrecked. Not very many berries per cluster. Blueberries perfect. Crowberries perfect, very big and sweet this year. Red bearberry perfect. Lowbush cranberries red and fat but crispy, not ripe. Still lots of weird mushrooms everywhere.
August 16
Mat-Su: Blueberries are being picked all over the Valley and Anchorage. Rosehips and watermelon berry, and highbush cranberry are all ripe.
August 1
Ester Dome, Ester: Has been very rainy with floods. Very weird fungi everywhere. Highbush cranberry are soggy, mushy, and pale or brown (wrecked.)
July 3
Ester Dome, Ester: Picked red currants, ready and nice. Some blueberries ready but mostly too green, look good. Some red bearberries ready. Crowberries look ripe but aren’t. Raspberry, lowbush/highbush cranberry all have green berries. Nagoonberry still flowering.
June 17
Ester Dome, Ester: Has been hot statewide and high/extreme fire danger. Rose petals mostly off, some rosehips, lots of rose galls. Tons of wildflowers: tall jacob’s ladder, yellow cinquefoil, dogwood, labrador tea, cotton grass, capitate valarian, etc. Extra lots of bluebell. Raspberry flowering with some green berries. Abundant nagoonberry flowering. Cloudberry finishing flowering. Soapberry ripe. Red currant, crowberry, and highbush/lowbush cranberry have green berries. Nice green blueberries with some purple color.
May 18
Ester Dome, Ester: Pollen everywhere, Fairbanks broke world birch pollen record this year apparently. Good spruce tips and red cones (berry-like.) Red currants have small green berries. Blueberries have tons of flowers. Also flowering is highbush cranberry, bluebell, labrador tea, soapberry, nagoonberry, coltsfoot and many wildflowers. Wild rose has no flowers yet.
May 12
Turnagain Arm Trail, Anchorage: Serviceberry, watermelon berry, highbush cranberry, baneberry flowering. Lots of blooming wildflowers of white, yellow, and purple (like jacob’s ladder.)
July 20
Resurrection Pass Trail, Hope: Lots of red currants, watermelon berries, and trailing raspberries. High and lowbush cranberries are half ripe. Tons of baneberry, blooming purple and white flowers like monkshead, jacob’s ladder, cow parsnip, etc.
June 18
Matanuska River Park, Palmer: Highbush cranberries have big green berries. Record heat and “extreme” fire danger level.
July 26
Matanuska River Park, Palmer: Lots of really good red currants. Very tasty and ripe. Lots of half ripe highbush cranberry. Some nice watermelon berries. Also lots of soapberry and baneberry around. Also rosehips ready.
Alaska Berry Bog 