Strawberry Season!

Michigan strawberries are nearly indescribable. They're nothing like the berries you get throughout the year that are shipped in from warmer climates. Those berries have been selected for their shelf life, ease of transportation, and aesthetics.

Local Michigan berries that you get from a farmer at the market are a whole different experience. They're sometimes lumpy, they'll spoil in your fridge after a few days, the season can be pitifully short, or it'll be plagued by rain and most will be too water logged.

But that perfect berry makes it all worth it. I often smell them before I see them at the market. A deeply sweet aroma that leads you to quarts of berries of varying shades of red, some nearly purple they're so dark. And the taste? That's where I lose my words. There's nothing more to say than they taste like a strawberry. Like what a strawberry truly tastes like. All the jams, flavorings, and shipped berries you get throughout the year pale in comparison. You get one, maybe two weeks, of truly perfect Michigan strawberries.

Somewhere in here is a metaphor for summer in Michigan. We put up with a lot of cold and darkness throughout the year. We try to fill the long gray winter with imitations of summer. Maybe a bit of travel to somewhere tropical, or a desperate purchase of a sunlight therapy lamp, or some meager attempts at indoor gardening.

But then the real thing comes along and you don't get it for as long as you wished or it isn't as perfect as you planned but it is here and it is real and it's better than anything you've experienced for the last 6 months. And you'll put up with another 6 months of longing to get a taste of it again.