This week I finally gave in to the kids' pestering and took them back to the pick-your-own farm for some blackberries. The main reason they were dying to go is that they like the dogs and cats at the farm. They are very nice dogs and cats (can you see the cat in this picture?)
Bean is such a dog person. I wish I could get him one. The thought of having a dog right now makes me want to curl up in a cardboard box and suck my thumb. I hope in a few years when the kids are a little older and less chaotic I won't feel that way. I also hope that happens while Bean is still young enough to romp and play with his dog.
Myself, I would like a cat. This one wanted to come home with us. It thought our stroller was just fabulous.
The blackberries were huge, plentiful, and delicious. Oh, and thornless too-- does it get any better than picking and eating thornless blackberries on a warm, cloudy summer day with your entire happy family? The Rabbit doesn't think so. She was constantly trying to snitch.
Roo picked at least a pint, which is pretty good for someone who spent most of the time shrieking in terror because a cat or dog was coming near her.
Fish picked a gallon, Bean picked a gallon, and I picked about a gallon and a half. That's about how many berries I was planning on, but I vastly underestimated the picking power of the Badger. All these dozens of times we've been berry picking over the years he's never gone with us. That's going to change. He caught the berry picking bug big-time. He picked an enormous amount of blackberries and I nearly had to drag him away from the bushes. We ended up with more than 30 pounds of berries. They were $3.25 a pound. You do the math.
I don't care. It was worth it. We could have spent that much easily on a family trip to a theme park, which might have been slightly more exciting but wouldn't have created as much family togetherness as this outing did. Plus we wouldn't have had 30 more pounds of luscious berries to add to our stockpile. Filling our deep freeze with high-quality fruit is a major priority for our family. I haven't bought any popsicles or soda pop this summer, but I have spent probably at least $400 on berries (that includes a shipment of 70 pounds of frozen Oregon blueberries and marionberries that will arrive in August.) What can I say-- we like berries!
5 comments:
$3.25/lb for U-Pick?!?!? Oh, I'm so sorry! I think I paid something like $1.10 or $1.25. I hope they taste delicious!
The strawberries were $1.25/pound from the same farm, but this is not Oregon and blackberries are rare here. You can pick them by the side of the road for free in Oregon-- I miss that. $3.25 is steep, but that's what you pay in these parts. I remember in Idaho I think I paid more than $2/lb for my strawberries and blackberries and raspberries were $3.50ish. So I know I'm not getting totally had, yet it is a bummer they have to be so expensive.
My kids would beg to go just to see the cats and dogs too. Berries aren't ripe here yet. But i do plan to pick a bunch. I love blackberries in a variety of ways.
Your Badger sounds like his brother. He'll skip out on work to go pick berries (Marionberries, most recently). He's a berry picking fiend, too. I'm so glad your Badger had such a great time. :o)
It made me laugh to see him so crazy about it because for years he's politely declined any time we've invited him to go.
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