Goodbye berry picking, see you next year!

 

Well, our good berry picking time is drawing to a close. But it has been a great year! Our Summer/Spring got off to a late start but I think that was actually beneficial for the berries as they didn't bloom to early and then get killed by frost. And we had some times of quite a bit of moisture and heat (both seem to be quite gone now!) and so they grew and produced quite nicely.

 

Our first picking was at the strawberry patch. That did cost a fair amount ($11 for a 5 quart pail) but we could eat as much as we wanted while picking and they were super yummy! We made jam and froze quite a few for the winter. We also enjoyed a couple of fresh strawberry pies.

The next berry to be ready was the Juneberries (Serviceberries). We foraged them in a couple of different places. They were easy to pick, tasted great and were free! These we froze and dried for later use as well as making muffins and bread from them.

Me picking blueberries.

 Blueberries and raspberries seem to come at the same time so we alternate between them. The blueberries we find on state land which is all over around here. We went picked twice - once with my parents and once with some friends.

My Mom

  I love just sitting down out in the woods enjoying all the beauty around me that God has made while picking lovely blueberries and huckleberries (they look very similar and we tend to just call them all blueberries) to eat in the winter. I also ate plenty while picking too!

 We froze most of our berries but did enjoy some on cheesecake and in smoothies right away.

 Nearly all our raspberry picking is done out at my parents place. They have a very large patch that produces very well. I have planted raspberries here (and strawberries too) but we aren't getting much production yet. My mom always has a goal of making sure she freezes a package of raspberries for each week of the year. We kept track and we were able to get that done for us as well plus some extras. We also made a couple of batches of raspberry jam. Raspberries get used regularly in yogurt smoothies around here.

   Our freezer is well stocked with berries and I am so thankful! God is so good to us.

  Mom and Dad also have some blackberries but we only ended up picking a few of them which I just mixed with the raspberries.

 Throughout the year we use our berries in smoothies, mixed with plain yogurt and honey, in muffins, crisps or pies and in fruit salad.

  I do still hope to get our and pick chokecherries for syrup making as I think they are nearly ripe. We are also keeping our eye out for wild grapes that should be getting ready before to long.

  Do you pick berries? What do you pick most?