Sep 10, 2008

Michigan Fruit Outings

Michigan has an excellent climate for growing things. But, apparently people don't have enough hired help to pick all that they grow (I'm sure you've heard about the one-state recession thing). So, joy of joys, they rely on the general public to harvest for them! :)
We were happy to help out on a couple ocassions in the past few weeks. And by "help out" I mean, pick or look cute, depending on which member of the family you are.
At the entrance to Dexter Blueberry Farm on a fairly humid, overcast day.
Doesn't he look thrilled?!
The blueberry bushes are very pretty but blueberry picking is pretty slow since you have to hunt for the ripe ones. The biggest and probably best-tasting ones were usually hiding underneath leaves and other branches. I spent a lot of time thinking about how this could be a parallel for people in our lives that maybe we are still getting to know or that we haven't even met yet. Ask me about the Parable of the Blueberry sometime.

He isn't quite old enough to help, but he did help by being very well behaved in his stroller.

2 hours and 4.35 lbs of blueberries later, I had plenty to make these tasty blueberry cornmeal pancakes later that weekend, some blueberry ice cream, and freeze the rest for later consumption.

On September 2 we went to another U-Pick place...this time it was a little closer and the fruit of choice was red raspberries!

My boys, hard at work in the fields.

I think Jeff and I looked pretty stylin' in our milk jug sashes. It is easier when you can pick with both hands.

Jacob was very good again on this outing, and was often found with his monkey in his mouth. That is where most things end up these days, but it is very funny when it is something big and he tries to move around with it, like a stuffed lion or penguin.

Jeff with our bountiful harvest that has also been frozen for the most part to be enjoyed in the future!

Monday I went back to get another quart of berries and then Tuesday I bottled a batch of raspberry jam. Add this to what we did on Saturday with our farmer's market purchase of probably 20 lb of apricots: three batches of apricot jam, 4 quarts of apricots and some dried apricots. I don't think we'll need to buy any jam for the rest of the year! YUM.

Next item to pick: apples for eating and applesauce canning!

2 comments:

Myrna said...

I am glad you like to can. I think those are very very short raspberry bushes. Does Jacob like all this fruit.

Scott said...

We went blueberry picking when we first got to New York . We were picking 3-4 lbs of blueberries in the pouring rain. We were drenched and loving it. Scott said that he thinks he had more fun that Evelyn, who had a blast eating all the yummy berries she could find.
I more recently took Evelyn raspberry picking then came home and made raspberry-peach freezer jam and plane raspberry freezer jam and then froze the rest. Evelyn has so much fun walking around and picking and eating all the berries that she can find. She loves it.