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Todd, Tasha and Tye Miller wade into wild plum thickets Monday morning to pick fruit. Five generations of Millers have picked the fruit in western Reno County.

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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle

Tasha Miller, of rural Sylvia, used to pick wild sandhill plums for summer spending money. She's the fifth generation of her family to pick the fruit.

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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle

Wild sandhill plums await to be eaten by humans or wildlife.

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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle

Wild sandhill plums fully ripened.

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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle

Bud, left, and Betty Miller have been picking wild sandhill plums for about 70 years. As a teen, he once helped pick 30 bushels to sell to others.

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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle

Tye Miller took a break from farm chores to help pick a bucket of sandhill plums Monday morning.

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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle

Generations of Kansans have picked and eaten wild sandhill plums -- plain, jellied, in sauces or turned into alcoholic drinks.

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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle

Wild sandhill plums grow in some of the thickest brambles in Kansas.

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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle

Wild sandhill plums are in great supply across much of central Kansas this summer.

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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle

In Kansas, wild sandhill plums may ripen over a two- to three-month period, roughly from July through September.

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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle

Wild sandhill plums grow across much of Kansas. This summer seems to have a bumper crop.

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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle

Everybody in the Miller family goes on plum-picking trips, including Guapo, left, and Zoey, the farm dogs.

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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle

Rancher Todd Miller picks sandhill plums that are not quite ripe. They'll quickly ripen at home.

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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle

Tasha Miller, 18, picks sandhill plums. She likes to snack on them whole.

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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle

Betty Miller has been picking and preserving sandhill plums for nearly 70 years in rural Reno County.

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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle

A bumper crop of wild sandhill plums.

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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle