We all count our blessings differently. A country song proclaims that “old dogs and children and watermellon wine” should be at the top of the list when we are talking the good things of life. I’ll go along with the first two. A mature woman who has, through long experience, evolved into a masterful cook is in my estimation one of God’s gifts, too.

Then there is the wild berry. A gatherer by nature, there is nothing for me more gratifying in life than picking wild berries and then consuming them in one form or another. So far this summer, we have picked and eaten strawberries and blueberries in shortcakes and blueberry pies.

It has been a fine season for wild berries and soon, as August wanes and September hues come on, will also appear in old choppings and along woods roads the gatherer’s delight: the beloved bountiful blackberry! I can hardly wait – for the picking and the pies.

Good pie making is an art. Not every kitchen habitue can create a pie with perfect crust for a berry pie that is not too tart and not too sweet. Ellen Libby of Libby camps, who writes a cooking column for the Northwoods Sporting Journal, is one of Maine’s most recognized and gifted cooks. This recipe below for bumbleberry pie comes from Ellen Libby’s kitchen. It caught my eye and soon triggered my salivary glands.

Now I’m no slouch in the kitchen. I do cook. Buttermilk biscuits, too.

But darn it all, try as I might, I’ve not been successful with pie crust. It always falls apart before I get in into the pie plate. If I could, I’d make a bumbleberry pie. Jim Carter, the head guide at Munsungan Camps, is a pie man.

Now he could put together a bumbleberry pie.

If you know a good pie maker, I’d suggest that you pass along Ellen’s unusual recipe. As it says on the Smucker jam jars, “It’s got to be good.”

Bumbleberry Pie

• cup butter

• 2 tbsp. sugar

• 1 cup rhubarb

• 2 Tbsp frozen blackberries, juices reserved

• cup frozen raspberries, juices reserved

• cup frozen blueberries, juices reserved

• cup frozen strawberries, juices reserved

• 1 Tbsp. sugar

• 1/3 cup cornstarch

• 2 tbsp. water

• Pastry for a 2 crust pie

In a medium sauté pan melt the butter and add 2 Tbsp sugar and rhubarb. Cook until the rhubarb is tender. Place the berries in a colander resting over a bowl. Pour the rhubarb over the berries and let them drain overnight in the refrigerator, collecting the juices in the bowl.

Preheat oven to 350. In a small saucepan bring the reserved juices to a boil with 1 Tbsp. sugar. In a small bowl combine the cornstarch and water to make a slurry and add to the boiling juice, stirring until thickened. Add the thickened juice to the berries and rhubarb. Pour the mixture into a crust-lined pie plate. Cover the filling with the top crust, pressing the edge to seal. Cut slits to allow steam to escape. Bake for 45 minutes or until the crust is browned.

V. Paul Reynolds is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors,” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on WVOM-FM 103.9, WCME-FM 96.7, and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is [email protected].