Invasion of the Blueberry Snatchers

     Word is out, there are blueberries on the Gunflint Trail ripe for picking.  We’re being invaded by carloads of people from Grand Marais and beyond.  Some of these people have never been on the Gunflint Trail even though they have lived in Cook County their entire lives. 

     They drive with urgency in search of a good place to pick.  Then like ants to sugar they swarm to the blueberry patches.  Once there they scour the earth with buckets in hand until all spots of blue are gone.  With bushes picked clean they move on to the next spot and remove every single berry in sight.

     The bears lay in wait, watching as these humans take their food berry by berry, mouthful by mouthful.  The bears sit in silence with tears in their eyes watching buckets full of their berries disappear.  They hear snippets of conversations with words like "5 quarts", "enough for 10 pies" and "we’ll have jam all winter long."  

      When the humans leave the bears move in to what’s left of their winter sustenance.  A smashed blueberry here, an overripe one there and one that isn’t quite ripe remain.  A string of cars loaded with purple tongued humans can be seen making the trek back to Grand Marais.  With berries gone the bears head to the homes of locals to scour the garbages for scraps. 

     With tummies growling, starving from hunger the bears say their prayers before drifting off to sleep, "Please let the invasion of the blueberry snatchers end."