Yesterday Jeff & I went to a local farm, Deterings Orchards, that had just opened their orchard for u-pick Cherries (non-sprayed). Jeff had picked Cherries many times before, but it was my first time picking Cherries. I was amazed at how beautiful old Cherry trees are! They are so colorful with the deep red Cherries loaded on every branch. The ripe ones along the bottom had mostly been picked so I climbed a tree to get the ripe Cherries at the top. I found a little tree spur to hang my bucket so I could use both hands to pick the higher branches, searching for the ones with the deepest color. When we brought our bucket up to pay, they weighed it. We had picked 21 pounds and they only cost $1 a pound so we paid $21!! That was a really good deal!

We decided to go to another local farm, Bush’s, and pick some more Strawberries because it was their last week open for u-pick. We headed to their non-sprayed field and it was still full of berries! This batch of Strawberries was a lot smaller than the first time we harvested. It took longer to pick, but they were still just as delicious! We enjoyed seeing fellow pickers delight in their first time Strawberry picking- they were giddy with huge grins on their faces! It was so fun to see and I know exactly how they feel! We talked about starting a Strawberry picking movement. Harvesting food is so deeply satisfying, nourishing, and joyful! I love to meet other people who love it as much as we do!

When we got home, we cut the green tops off the Strawberries (fed those to the Chickens) and froze the berries (mostly to make smoothies, but also to have in hot cereal & yogurt.)

This morning we clipped Chicken wings, milked the three mama Goats, and started a new batch of cheese, kefir & buttermilk. I watered the garden, hung laundry on the line, fed all the animals, and now I need to go pit some cherries!

Happy Summer!