The Sweet Taste of Summer!

When the girls and I made our Summer '15 list of all the fun things we wanted to do this break, picking berries was way up there.  We always enjoy going out to pick strawberries, blueberries and raspberries.  2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, and 2009

In the part of the US where we live, right now is high strawberry time.  Thursday it was cool and slightly overcast--in other words the perfect day for picking!  We had wanted to go the day before but every time we tried to leave, the heavens would open up and pour with rain!

This year we tried a new farm, which was closer to home, on a recommendation given to me by a friend.  When we pulled into the parking lot my heart sank because it was chock-a-block with cars.  I was afraid it would be so crowded and that there wouldn't be many berries to pick.  It ended up not being a problem at all since it was still early in the morning, but if we had gotten there any later, the pickins' would have been pretty slim!  The fact that it was about 30 minutes closer to our house was a big plus as was the fact that it was super organized.

There was a cute wagon that took us to the patch so both of the girls enjoyed riding on that.  After about an hour and 10 minutes of picking we had filled 3 buckets.

The Noodle is an expert picker!  She stays focused and knows that there is a sweet reward at the end. It was really only in the last 10 minutes that she started asking if she could be done.  Mei Mei pulled in her weight as well.  I did have to remind her to be gentle, since as she would pick, she'd kinda basketball toss them into the basket.  Ha!

Once the pails were filled, we paid and then went to get fro-yo.  The other farm where we've gone in the past has a frozen custard stand right down the road from it, so we always go there.  Menchie's, which was much closer, wasn't quite the same, but who can complain about a tasty frozen treat?!

Later that afternoon we worked on making a strawberry pie.  I used this recipe and it was easy-peasy.
Their endorsement?  Two thumbs up!

Another successful year!