Picking Berries

Few things get Sabrina more excited than the idea of collecting her own fruit. She's always picking and eating the crabapples from our garden, no matter how tart. So we went berry picking at Butler's Orchard in Maryland. And here we had juicy blackberries coming into their sweetness and end-of-the-season blueberries just scattered enough to make the picking a challenge. Sabrina harvested (the blueberries hitting her pail sounded just like the caplucks from Blueberries for Sal) and CC ate, so many berries I had to confess at checkout that we should probably be paying for an extra pound. But tasting is encouraged, I was told.

It was a hot morning and since I really had no plan for our berries other than enjoying them for breakfast and snacks, we took it easy and came home with just three pounds of berries. But I would love to go back on a cooler day to gather more for making jams and preserves.

The same orchard also grows raspberries and flowers, for which we'll have to return later in the summer. And in the fall, apples and pumpkins, oh yes. We're already getting excited.