The apple orchard is a rite of passage field trip for the little ones but also a really great time for moms, dads, grandmas, and grandpas. We load up on bushels full of apples to take home for apple pies, apple sauce, apple cake, and just lots of fresh juicy apple eating.
Strawberry picking is perfect for the short bodies of children, since the berries grow really low to the ground. We didn't make it out this year because this was the summer my foot was broken, and the fields are muddy and full of bugs. Not conducive conditions for my glorious boot. We purchased our strawberries from the local farmers' market instead, which means they're just as sweet and juicy, just cost a teeny bit more. Everyone around here makes jam. I do not. I eat the strawberries, bake with them, and then freeze some with the intention to make smoothies with them. Also, something I don't really do.
The pumpkin patch is hit or miss being in the Midwestern Fall. It's fun to ride out into the farm on a tractor full of hay with the kids. Some years, it's gorgeous weather; others, it's wet and cold. That's just the way it goes around here. If we make it out to pick our own pumpkins, good for the kids. They have fun choosing one that's just right for them, still on the vine with plenty of dirt all around. If not, they'll have not quite as much fun choosing one from the giant bin at Meijer. Those are actually much cheaper, so when we're buying four of them, sometimes it's just the way to go.
Now on to what is always my favorite fruit to pick: blueberries. They're so easy! You do not have to worry about them bruising or being smashed in your bucket like apples and strawberries. They are just so hardy and fall right off the bushes with the slightest wiggle. I usually take all four kids to pick blueberries, but this year, two of them were with their grandparents for the week. Trixie and Marshall were the ones with me, so we went together on what turned out to be just the most beautiful day. No sweltering sun beating down on us, no mosquitoes buzzing around, just an overcast afternoon where we could take our time and talk peacefully to each other through the blueberry bushes.
The farm had small colored sand buckets for kids like Marshall, and bigger white buckets for Trixie and me. We tied the buckets around our necks and trudged through the fields to find bushes overflowing with round, dark berries. We also ran into some friends of ours, so we chatted with them while searching for those sweet, juicy fruits to take home. The three kids in that family were having a contest to see who could pick the most! What a great idea for mine next year. I'm totally stealing it.
Marshall was eating every other berry he picked off the bushes. It's typical for him (and even allowed). Last year when we picked strawberries, he took a bite out of every single berry before he placed them in his bucket. He and Trixie were so proud of the blueberry haul they procured in forty short minutes. I'm proud of them, too, and thankful for the year's worth of treats we'll have because of their quick work. Pancakes, muffins, pies, buckles, cakes, cheesecakes-yummy!
A few times while we were out in the fields, seemingly out of nowhere, Marshall called to me through the bushes, "Mama, I love you!" Gosh, what a sweet sound from my sweet little boy. I really needed to hear it. In a few months, the warmth of Summer days will be replaced by the chill of Winter nights. When we wake up on a cold, snowy morning and the kids ask for me to bake some blueberry muffins, I'll march down to the basement to pull a bag of our frozen berries from the freezer. I'll sigh and fondly recall the comforting feelings of this fantastic U-pick day!
Check out the recipe I use for Blueberry Buckle: http://mamalovesyouandchocolatetoo.blogspot.com/2014/07/blueberry-buckle.html
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| A past trip with all four kids to the blueberry farm: a wonderful family bonding experience!
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