As a child, living in Vancouver did not exclude me from the almost annual summer adventure of spending some time in the berry patch. Now that I look back it probably had more to do with keeping the three of us occupied and learning to work, because - money – we did not make much!My parents took us to Abbotsford and simply arranged for us to stay in a cabin that the farmers provided for “campers.” I remember one or two summers my grandmother even coming along. That was before the year I was put in charge of my younger siblings . . . which happened to be the last summer I picked.
The other night we went out to get some blueberries. I’ve noticed that, over the years, berry farming has greatly improved and I don’t believe my perspective has much to do with it.
If we’d had these kind of bushes when we were kids, it would have been a completely different story! I remember bushes so tall and bushy that you could not see who was on the other side . . . and they were not nearly as laden with berries as these little ones are.
So . . . that is all I want to say . . . berry picking can be quite an enjoyable and relaxing time now . . . no strawboss . . . no dodging of flying berries . . . and no pranks such as getting locked into the outhouse. Just one hour . . . 30 lbs between the two of us . . . on a quiet summer evening.
When I got home I rinsed the berries, let them dry on trays overnight and put them in ziplock containers to freeze. This is the easiest fruit to freeze and use all winter long . . . in blueberry pies, scones, pancakes, muffins, Platz or simply added to smoothies, cereal and fruit salads. They thaw quickly by putting them in a colander and running cold water over them.
12 comments:
We mostly picked raspberries as a child but some summers my mom deemed that we should do both. Blueberry picking, to me, was much worse. The bushes were huge, the berries not as plentiful and the amount of spiders and earwigs sent me through the roof!
I did learn to work though and was taught the value of money at an early age. I always told myself that I would never make my children pick berries when I was a mom and I haven't...yet :)
I never had to pick blueberries as a young girl ...but now I pick them as often as we can. Raspberry picking still doesn't seem enjoyable to me. .it never did.
Your blueberry picking pictures are so beautiful.
Great photos. I think I need me some of these little bushes. My bush doesn't produce like they do :0)
What a wonderful place to pick those gorgeous blueberries! Great pictures!
i think evening would be the best time to pick berries! great pictures.
i've found that freezing the berries on a cookie sheet first, then putting them in Ziplocs doesn't freeze them into clumps at all, so all the berries stay individual.
We grow lots of blueberries in East Texas. Enjoyed your post!
Beautiful pic's...and memories. I think I will need to go in search of such a blueberry patch...since my bushes were empty when we got home from vacation. I'm thinking the birds had a good feast!
When I picked berries as a child, I too was surround by a group of women. I loved listening to the stories and back and forth chatter than went on between my mother and aunts (in three languages, English, French, Cree.) The blueberries were wild, the shrubs very low, hugging the ground and the berries didn't grow in grape like clumps. I won't be able to duplicate that anywhere else. Not only geographically distant, but years and years and years.
Sharon
Oh........... do I wish that we lived close to all the berry farms. Great pictures.
alvina
Now I want some:)I'll have to be happy buying them in the grocery store..and they do come from your area.
The pics look great Anneliese!
Jealous! Bernie and I are blueberry addicts, and the price for a pint is pretty high.
Gorgeous pictures of the lovely blue frosty looking berries!
We always picked raspberries with my mom in the summers. When I pass by the place where we used to pick I can still feel the scraps on my arms from the branches, but I also have wonderful memories of eating our picnic lunch under the shade trees, running around with summer time friends while the moms chatted. Since we lived in Abbotsford we could go home for night, but I always thought that those who stayed in the little cabins were so lucky. Kathy
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