Blueberry Picking

The recent heat wave broke (temporarily) and we thought it was best to try to get out and do an activity (versus are more typical lounge-like-lifestyle) this weekend. Due to some issues with early warming and the more recent heat and drought, the seasons on the local fruit crops has been tampered with. Many of the blueberry farms are already ending their season (many weeks early) and most are not offering U-Pick this summer. Luckily, one or two of them are, and we decided to give Jones Berry Farm a try.


Brooke is already an expert in blueberries, as she refuses to eat any blueberry that is not rich in color and large in size. So, we gave her a bucket and set her to work. She really needed no introduction.

She was quick to give Ryan tips, who actually didnt need much instruction either.  He insisted on carrying his own bucket and started picking immediately.  First, he was picking everything.  We needed to tell him "no green ones" maybe once or twice, he got it.  After that, it was nothing but blue in the bucket.

 At first, Ryan spent a great deal of time picking and placing blueberries into the bucket.

Then, I decided to get him to try one.  That might have been a mistake.  From that point on, not a single berry went into his bucket.





Eventually, picking them off the tree was too consuming.  He sat down and started eating out of his bucket.  Luckily, I anticipated this coming and moved 90% of the berries from his bucket into Brooke's bucket.

Soon, he missed the fun of picking and went back to the trees. This time though, he ate the berries straight off the tree ... essentially a direct tree to mouth transaction.


THE FINAL RESULT


We came home with many less berries than anticipated. Picking is time consuming, but Ryan honestly ate a good 2 cups of berries, maybe more. We didnt intend on having a lot, but didnt plan on so few either ;)


Brooke and I decided to make a blueberry crumble. She enjoyed making it, and waiting for it to finish ... but neither kid liked how it tasted. Oh well, Mom & Dad each had two big bowls, Brooke had plain ice-cream, and Ryan just hung out and watched (someday the kid has got to realize the joy of ice-cream, right?)