A lady of the Wiyot people, a native people of the Humboldt Bay, once told me that there is nothing sweeter than wild beach strawberries. The petite berries of this plant (Fragaria chiloensis) are popular among birds, making it almost impossible to find the fruits to taste. One day, when I was taking a walk on the beach and checking the waves, I came across this huge field of beach strawberries. I remembered the words of the Wiyot lady about the berries of these plants, but I could not find any fruits. It was too early…
So, I came back to the same spot after a couple of weeks, hoping to find some berries. The strawberry flowers had been replaced with the purple flowers of Beach Peas. The fragrance of the pea flowers was calling my name, and I had to lay down in the purple field of wonderfulness.
And, this tiny red thing was sitting right in front of my face among the purple flowers! My very first wild strawberry was in my mouth a second later. Yes! Super sweet! And sandy. Very sandy, actually. I didn’t care, though. Sand is good for you, I told myself, and I collected quite a few. They sure sweetened up my day.
