Tuesday, June 5, 2012

strawberry fields forever


Almost every weekend since March, we have been so busy around the farm that weekend free time just didn't seem to exist for us. Chris would work every Saturday and Sunday just like any other day and it really started to wear on me over the past month. All I really wanted to do was go for a Sunday drive or do something new and "out of the box" for us.. nothing wild and crazy or expensive. Somehow, this weekend was wide open with everything, farm wise, sitting pretty. All Chris had to do was feed the cows in the morning and then he was all mine :) His brother, Michael, came out later in the morning to tell us about his trip to New York City with his high school's show choir and give us a run through of the photos taken. I'm sure Chris would liked to have relaxed at home, but I had other plans in mind. I saw a billboard for a pick your own strawberry farm and went online to do a little research. Turns out the closest one to us was only a 30 minute drive away. I didn't have to twist Chris's arm to hard to coax him into taking me there, being the strawberry fiend that he is.


We took Michael along for the day. There were only a handful of other people there so there were plenty of strawberries to go around. We spend a little over an hour crawling on hands and knees hunting for the biggest and brightest ones. When I finally picked up the cardboard flat at the end of our picking session I was surprised by the weight of it. We ended up coming home with 14 pounds of freshly picked strawberries.. yes I said 14! I have no idea what I'm going to do with it all, but I have a feeling we will most certainly have enough vitamin c in our bodies this week. I've already made a fresh strawberry pie and I threw together some healthy strawberry muffins for a breakfast treat. Its amazing how much better freshly picked berries taste compared to their store-bought counterparts. Every time I bite into one, I swear they taste like they are carbonated.. like a big gulp of strawberry punch, but better.  We had so much fun over the weekend. Even if we didn't go far, it was nice just to get away from the farm for a day our two and enjoy ourselves.
I hope you all had as fabulous of a weekend as we did!

26 comments:

  1. awesome. they have these everywhere it seems, except for where i live. womp, womp!

    ReplyDelete
  2. i know your boys would have a ball picking strawberries so that's a bummer :( there were a few couples there with kids around your boys' age and they were having a blast. do you have any sort of "pick ur own" in your area? maybe apples or pumpkins would be fun if you do

    ReplyDelete
  3. My mom used to make strawberry jam, it was the best...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey John! I bet it was delicious. Would you or Patti happen to have Aunt Delores's recipe for that strawberry jam?

      Delete
    2. I'll have to see if we have it.

      Delete
  4. Oh my, suddenly I feel the need to go strawberry picking! I'm jealous of your less than crowded field, our local ones are jammed packed on weekends. Homemade strawberry jam is simply the BEST!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's too bad.. I feel like our local one is just far enough from the suburbs that not a lot of people get out to it when there's a few more closer towards Chicago. Maybe if you try going earlier in the morning it wouldn't be as crowded. I've never made jam but with the amount we picked, I feel like I need to do something to help use them up :)

      Delete
  5. Great post title :) I forgot it was that time of year, I will have to make a trip out to the country to get strawberries soon!

    ReplyDelete
  6. this looks like SO MUCH FUN
    !!! I love straberry picking..summe is upon us! So glad I ran across your blog :)

    -simply megan

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh yummy! Where is this, because I could use a strawberry field that big.. I love them! Hehe

    XOXO JET

    www.hattieandthejets.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The strawberry field we went to was in Earlville, Illinois. If you go online to www.pickyourown.org , hopefully you can find a strawberry patch near you :)

      Delete
  8. Oooh, delicious! I've never gone strawberry picking before. Looks like I have something to add to my to do list.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ugh, I wanted to do this so bad but I think we missed our season. It looks like SO MUCH fun!!! and...makes for GREAT pictures. ♥Lindsay

    ReplyDelete
  10. FUN!!!! I can't wait to pick some strawberries, what a fun time :)
    Tereza

    ReplyDelete
  11. Strawberry muffins??? I need to try these. Beautiful photos.

    ReplyDelete
  12. oh gosh, really want to pick strawberries right about now. great photographs!!
    xo TJ

    ReplyDelete
  13. I've been seeing so many people at Strawberry patches and I want to go so badly! Looks like a fun day. And Strawberry muffins? Yum!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The muffins didn't turn out like your typical "cakey" muffins, they were more dense but they made for a nice quick & healthy breakfast item. To try finding a strawberry patch near you go to www.pickyourown.org and they list pick your own farms by state and even county :)

      Delete
  14. i just wanted to say hello!!!! and send some love your way today!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh that sounds wonderful! We love picking your own fruit in the summer, and then freezing it to (hopefully!) last all year long. I loved how you said a fresh picked berry tastes like a gulp of punch! You're so right - no comparison to store bought. Just found your blog today for the first time, and had such a lovely look around. Hope your day was a good one!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh how fun, i'v always wanted to do that! btw your blog is great =)

    xo, adropofbliss.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  17. ooo! so much fun. i can't believe it's strawberry season again. this is a great reminder to go get my bum in a patch.

    xo

    ReplyDelete
  18. Great! I don't think there is a strawberry farm near where I live... Maybe I have to google it.

    ReplyDelete
  19. nothing better than some fresh strawberries. except for strawberries on ice cream. that would be better.
    your pictures are amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Oh my heck.... those sound AMAZING! Lucky girl :) What a perfect day! I'm so glad you two were able to have some time to be able to do this!

    ReplyDelete

shoot me a line or two