Pucker Up...Or Not

To get there
you exit the interstate,
and travel to Route 70 -
a flat, black, double-lined asphalt road
through the lonely Pine Barrens of New Jersey.

While you drive, Rodney Atkins sings on the radio -
I've been cooped up, tied down, 'bout forgotten
What a field looks like, full of corn and cotton
If I'm gonna hit a traffic jam,
Well it better be a tractor man
So sick and tired of this interstate system
I need a curve and wind-a-twistin'
Dusty path to nowhere
With the wind blowing through my baby's hair

You find the town of Browns Mills.
Your gps will take you to several locations...
none of which you want.
So you watch for the intersection that connects Route 70 to
a dirt road called Pasadena Rd.
Then you've arrived.


Ready to Harvest 

Before you,
nestled among 800 acres of barrens,
your eyes rest on 200 acres of cranberry bogs -
scarlet
ruby
cherry
cardinal
crimson
red
cranberries.
Your mouth puckers at the thought.


Cran-Snacks

You are warmly welcomed by family -
not your family,
but generations of a cranberry farming family.


Scarlett Wake

You are impressed by the information you hear.
Your mouth delights in the tastes
of unique cranberry recipes.
Surprisingly, your mouth doesn't pucker.
You watch the harvest -
the berries floating to the top
to be collected, cleaned, shipped
and frozen in Philadelphia by nightfall.


Ruby Round Up

You visit the farm stand
and purchase some of those
fresh, plump Scarlett Night Cranberries you recently tasted.
Then you bid farewell
to the new family you just met.


Cranberry Bath

You feel enlightened with
your new knowledge of cranberries.
You munch on berries while you drive home
dreaming of the Thanksgiving dishes
you'll make this year.
You just hope you don't eat them all first.


Cranberry Fact: 
Ocean Spray is owned by the cranberry farmers. 
When you buy Ocean Spray, 
you are buying directly from the farmers. 


In Pennsylvania and New Jersey
(and maybe elsewhere)
you can buy Pine Barren Native Fruits cranberries at
Whole Foods and Wegmans Markets.
It will be worth it.
I promise.
They taste delicious
dipped in melted caramel.

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All images by Rebecca Haegele have been registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Click on any image to go to its gallery for purchasing information.