A few weeks ago I happened across a cool website, Pick Your Own, where you can find lists of farms near you that let you pick your own produce. I thought we had pretty much missed the blueberry season which usually lasts until late June/early July but I signed up for a newsletter for a farm in Sherman anyway. I was pleasantly surprised when Bailey's Berry Patch sent out a notice that they would be open one last time this past Saturday for their final variety of blueberries to be picked. They call them "Tiffblues".
So on Saturday morning Bill and I headed out for an adventure neither one of us had ever experienced before! It took a little over an hour to get there and it was HOT outside, but boy oh boy was it worth it! We spent about 2 hours and picked about 2 gallons of blueberries. This particular variety of berries are smaller but sweeter than I have ever tasted--they are so yummy! We could definitely tell it's the end of the blueberry season---many of the other bushes were picked over and lots of the Tiffblues themselves had shriveled from the heat. It was almost like a treasure hunt to find nice groups of plump juicy ones left on the bush, which made it even more exciting when we would find a "winning" bush.
I think this would be a very kid-friendly activity for kids a little bit older than Luke and Merit---there were lots of other families with kids out there, and a cute little "lake" with picnic tables and benches where families can picnic. We decided that Luke and Merit are probably a little on the young side for this, I'm not sure it would hold their attention span long enough to fill a bucket--it does take quite a bit of time, patience, and diligence. But older children interested in gardening and sweet berries would have a great time like we did! We will definitely be going back next season, which starts in late April and early May, so hopefully next year we can go in cooler weather. There are tons of farms not too far outside of the DFW area.
This week I will be making some blueberry pies and trying my hand at making jam for the first time too!
Informal poll for my readers: Does this sound like something only chicks would like to do? My testosterone-drenched next door neighbor Rich insists that picking blueberries is "gay" (his words not mine) despite the fact that we shared some our our delicious bounty with him. He thinks I'll be teaching Bill how to crochet next (little does he know, I have no idea how to crochet). Bill enjoyed it as much as I did and insists HE doesn't think it's a "girly" activity, which is all that matters to me, but it got me to thinking. (by the way, for those of you who don't know, Bill and Rich are very good friends, so it's not as offensive as it sounds, although Rich DOES like to give me a hard time, about everything). I'm curious as to your thoughts on the "gayness" of pickin' berries. ;)
3 comments:
Perhaps Rich is too much of a city slicker to appreciate berry-picking. On a recent guy-bonding outing (they were headed for a clay gun-shooting obstacle course, when it was closed for a tournament, they went to a wakeskate park), my father and my husband saw a peach tree on the side of the road, drove off-road, and spent an hour working like migrant farm workers to score some great fruit. It reminded me of days in Louisiana when my dad would get so excited to find wild muscadines growing, and we all pitched in to bring some home. Maybe that's just country boys for ya.
Mmmm, muscadines! and peaches too, yum. Yup, you've just provided confirmation, Rich is a Freak.
What exactly is a "wakeskate" park?
And, I think it's so sweet that your husband likes to guy-bond with his father in law...awwww...
Did you make peach pie?
That is so totally not a "girl" thing. It's a country boy thing. City boys don't get it. But look at Papaw. He loved his garden and he's the one who taught me how to pick blackberries without getting scratched to shreds.
And as a total off-topic aside, I absolutely detest when someone uses "gay" as a pejorative term, as though being "gay" is automatically a bad thing.
Post a Comment