Of all the things we u-pick every year, raspberries are by far my very least favorite. The past two years I have always managed to time things completely wrong, and get around to picking raspberries right as the season is ending. The berries have always been few and far between, and I was never able to get enough to even attempt canning with. Plus, raspberries are such a pain to pick, with a lot of effort expended for a seemingly small (and highly delicate) result.
I would probably give up picking raspberries at all if it were not for the fact that Matthew loves raspberry jam. He has been asking for some for two years now, and I have disappointed him every season! I decided this year would be different so I marked my calendar and began calling farms weeks earlier than I ever have before. The kids and I finally had a free day, and we headed out early in the morning to start picking what I was sure would be a plethora of raspberries. We went to a farm I had been to a few years before called Baggenstos, because I knew they had a huge raspberry field and I was sure this would be the place to change all my past raspberry failures around. Unfortunately, all it did was cement a deeper dislike for these elusive berries. The kids and I trudged up and down the hilly fields, dragging a massive, heavy wagon behind us, only to find that 1/2 of the raspberry plants were dead, and the other half looked like they had been picked over by hungry bears. There were seriously only a few unripe berries on each bush...and raspberry season had just started! I was so upset thinking that I had done it again, and was going to burst Matthews dreams of raspberry jam for the third year in a row!
I called my friend Stephanie as I walked dejectedly back to the car, and begged for the name of the raspberry place she had told me about the week before. She kindly gave me directions, and I packed the kids up and we were on our way again. It was a short drive to Smith's Berry Barn but I would have driven much further - that place was wonderful! From the front it doesn't appear to even be a u-pick, and their fields are smaller than most places I have gone in the past. But the people are friendly, the berries are spray free and the picking was easy! I picked 9 pounds of raspberries in about an hour and a half, and returned home to can up 12 1/2 pints of the coveted raspberry jam. Matthew was so excited when he got home and saw them lined up on the counter!
Stephanie and I decided to go together yesterday to pick for an hour or so before Killian's swim lessons started. The berries didn't seem as prevalent (a surprise with the high 90 temps we have been having) but it didn't matter. I was having so much fun chatting with Stephanie that the berries I did get were just a bonus! It was really hot out that morning though, and my kids faded fast. Usually they are so great about being patient for berry picking, and occupy themselves with dirt and the small toys they bring. But with the hot sun beating down, they just didn't have it in them so after an hour of picking we took a break and Stephanie led us over to the section of the farm we had missed before - the animals!
The kids perked right up when they saw the chickens. Its times like this that I realize just how much they miss our girls....and how much I miss them too! Chickens really are the perfect pet - curious, sweet, hilarious to watch and so much fun to be around. The kids ran to get some berries to throw them, and soon had themselves quite the chicken following:
Next to the chickens was another paddock with 2 goats and two rabbits:
What looks like a small Scotty dog on the bottom left is actually one of the rabbits (the other is in the shed). I LOVED this furry little guy, and had so much fun watching him run around the grass. He was so cute!
I was even entertaining thoughts of getting another rabbit hutch, just so we too could own a rabbit this fluffy and cute....until Matthew looked at the pictures of our day and declared it the ugliest thing he had ever seen! Lol. So much for that idea!
The kids wanted a picture taken on this hay cart together:
I have to say, I still don't love picking raspberries, and I am pretty sure they are going to stay on the bottom of my list of favorite things to u-pick. But I am not going to dread raspberry picking quite so much now that I have a good place to go to, and a great friend to pick with! I plan to get back out there again this coming week....hopefully finding a large bounty waiting for me!
I would probably give up picking raspberries at all if it were not for the fact that Matthew loves raspberry jam. He has been asking for some for two years now, and I have disappointed him every season! I decided this year would be different so I marked my calendar and began calling farms weeks earlier than I ever have before. The kids and I finally had a free day, and we headed out early in the morning to start picking what I was sure would be a plethora of raspberries. We went to a farm I had been to a few years before called Baggenstos, because I knew they had a huge raspberry field and I was sure this would be the place to change all my past raspberry failures around. Unfortunately, all it did was cement a deeper dislike for these elusive berries. The kids and I trudged up and down the hilly fields, dragging a massive, heavy wagon behind us, only to find that 1/2 of the raspberry plants were dead, and the other half looked like they had been picked over by hungry bears. There were seriously only a few unripe berries on each bush...and raspberry season had just started! I was so upset thinking that I had done it again, and was going to burst Matthews dreams of raspberry jam for the third year in a row!
I called my friend Stephanie as I walked dejectedly back to the car, and begged for the name of the raspberry place she had told me about the week before. She kindly gave me directions, and I packed the kids up and we were on our way again. It was a short drive to Smith's Berry Barn but I would have driven much further - that place was wonderful! From the front it doesn't appear to even be a u-pick, and their fields are smaller than most places I have gone in the past. But the people are friendly, the berries are spray free and the picking was easy! I picked 9 pounds of raspberries in about an hour and a half, and returned home to can up 12 1/2 pints of the coveted raspberry jam. Matthew was so excited when he got home and saw them lined up on the counter!
Stephanie and I decided to go together yesterday to pick for an hour or so before Killian's swim lessons started. The berries didn't seem as prevalent (a surprise with the high 90 temps we have been having) but it didn't matter. I was having so much fun chatting with Stephanie that the berries I did get were just a bonus! It was really hot out that morning though, and my kids faded fast. Usually they are so great about being patient for berry picking, and occupy themselves with dirt and the small toys they bring. But with the hot sun beating down, they just didn't have it in them so after an hour of picking we took a break and Stephanie led us over to the section of the farm we had missed before - the animals!
The kids perked right up when they saw the chickens. Its times like this that I realize just how much they miss our girls....and how much I miss them too! Chickens really are the perfect pet - curious, sweet, hilarious to watch and so much fun to be around. The kids ran to get some berries to throw them, and soon had themselves quite the chicken following:
Next to the chickens was another paddock with 2 goats and two rabbits:
What looks like a small Scotty dog on the bottom left is actually one of the rabbits (the other is in the shed). I LOVED this furry little guy, and had so much fun watching him run around the grass. He was so cute!
I was even entertaining thoughts of getting another rabbit hutch, just so we too could own a rabbit this fluffy and cute....until Matthew looked at the pictures of our day and declared it the ugliest thing he had ever seen! Lol. So much for that idea!
The kids wanted a picture taken on this hay cart together:
I have to say, I still don't love picking raspberries, and I am pretty sure they are going to stay on the bottom of my list of favorite things to u-pick. But I am not going to dread raspberry picking quite so much now that I have a good place to go to, and a great friend to pick with! I plan to get back out there again this coming week....hopefully finding a large bounty waiting for me!