A Morning in the Strawberry Patch

June is never a complete month for me unless we visit the strawberry patch. Last year for some reason we never made it but we didn’t waste any time this year. As soon as I got an email update that the berries were ripe for picking, I chose the coolest and driest morning of the week and penciled it in.

I love doing morning activities like this one with Elizabeth. Strawberry patches are very family and child friendly…there were little ones strapped in Ergo’s and strollers lining the rows. Thankfully Elizabeth is the perfect age for picking…we didn’t need anything besides a bit of bug spray and our container and we were off.

As we started out down the row I made sure to tell Elizabeth that the last time we went picking she was in my belly just like the baby. Even though I’m certain she didn’t care about that fact, I loved knowing that we had started a little family tradition. We’ve been doing a lot of outings with her lately and she’s turned into quite the good listener. After sharing that we picked the red berries she went to town…although a few random white and green ones made it in for good measure. She was an excellent helper, picking handfuls of berries and staying relatively close by. She would taste a few but I was surprised she didn’t come home full of berry juice. Nobody minds little ones snacking at the berry patch!

And after about 30 minutes, she declared the activity “all-done” and so we began making our way to the car. I never have strong plans when it comes to activities like this because I want them to stay enjoyable. And besides we had 7 pounds of berries already which is plenty for jam and muffins and eating. The berries were prime for picking…you could just reach your hand in and come up with a handful of juicy, red, ripe berries.

It’s still hard for me to believe that the last time we were picking I was just 9 days from giving birth. We had such a nice time this morning on our little mommy and daughter adventure and now I better get going on making some jam.

For any MN Locals we headed to Lorence’s Berry Farm in Northfield. We’ve had such a great experience there and their berries are really well priced. Just $2/pound.

Now I just can’t wait for blueberry and raspberry season!