It was berry hot…

Yesterday I decided it might be fun to take the girls to the nearby Fruit and Berry Patch. It probably would have been best if this idea had occurred to me either first thing in the morning or maybe on an altogether cooler day, but sometimes spontaneity works well enough. And, now that we’re forced to create our own forms of entertainment all week, I thought it sounded like a good adventure.

I had heard that you can sometimes buy fresh strawberries already picked at the little weighing station/snack stand at the front of the farm. So, I had in mind that we could just do a tiny bit of “picking” for fun and then do our real fruit shopping there. Well, apparently, I either missed that window of opportunity or the farmer at this particular patch prefers to let the customers do the picking themselves. Either way, he only had one little bucket of strawberries left for sale. I knew this would never do, so I carefully watched as the friendly farmer pointed out the driving directions to the patch on the cardboard box map he had created and sent us out the door with the promise that there was still “lots of good pickin’ out there!”

Thankfully a couple of other families were already out in the patch gathering their berries, or I’m afraid I would have never found the section of the fruity wilderness where we were supposed to be. With their big buckets in hand, both girls were eager to hop out and start picking “straw-bees.”

The Toddler was fascinated by the fact that she was surrounded by strawberries, and she loved alerting us to every good berry she saw. She also enjoyed talking incessantly about how she “squished a straw-bee” with her shoe but it was all an “accident.” While she didn’t actually pick any herself, in the end she wound up with a full basket of berries that she was most proud to tote around.

The Preschooler was a pretty aggressive, happy picker for the first ten minutes or so until she suddenly realized how badly she needed to “go potty.” Her timing is consistently impeccable. During the hour we spent at the farm, I had the privilege of taking her to the potty not once, but twice. And, you can imagine how plush the potties are on a berry farm.

Ultimately, we gathered enough good strawberries to make it worth the trip. And, the girls enjoyed a strawberry slush and a fried strawberry pie to top off the afternoon. So, I think I can say it was a successful outing. It’s just that I still don’t feel very natural at doing this sort of natural stuff…

In my heart of hearts I think I desire to be at least a little into the whole foods/organic/natural way of life. But, the reality is that I’m too much of a city mouse to ever make it work well. Not a skyscraper loving, subway-riding big city mouse… but, more of a suburban mouse.

I love the idea of having our own garden, but I honestly couldn’t tell you whether blueberries grow on bushes or trees… or maybe in patches. And, things like that would make me a very dangerous gardening girl.

Similarly, I like the idea of picking our own strawberries at the fruit and berry patch. But, the reality is it’s very hot out there in the middle of those patches. And, you have to bend over a lot to look for the best berries. And, you have to lift your two-year old over the rows because she can’t step over them herself. And, you might have to take a couple of bathroom breaks with a curious four-year old during the process. And, there’s a good chance the two-year old will squeeze a few berries on the ride from the patch back to the weighing station and/or strategically place a few others in undisclosed locations in the backseat of the car.

… And, by that point, it begins to seem like it would be easier to pick up a couple of cartons of California-grown strawberries at Kroger.

These fresh berries better be good. That’s all I’m saying.

PS: This post would have lots of pictures to accompany it if my iphone were not mysteriously dead. Granted, my phone has been through its share of trauma.  But, not today.  I have no idea why it has gone unresponsive.  Hopefully either the Apple geniuses or the Toddler will have a cure…