As I picked these with my boys, I felt like I was the Mom in Blueberries for Sal who lost her child, but didn’t know it, because a baby bear was behind her making noise. But no bear, and no skunk this time. (You never do really know what’s lurking around here at the lake.) I love this book, because it reminds me of simpler times, and it gives that sweet-reassuring message to the child that “everything is all right, Mommy’s here.” And it gives the same message to the Mom — Sal is alright!
But, I feel even luckier to have these. They are hard to come by this year. Many farmers explained to me that the blueberry farmers had sold their harvest to “foreign companies” who were drying them to sell. The going rate was between $24 and $27 for 10 pounds. A quart, at the farmer’s markets is $2.99. Like I said, I’m lucky to have the 8 pounds we have – safe in our freezer. They were $.55 per pound. Did I mention that I feel lucky?
I found this Blueberry Patch in a quaint Amish village — and they were selling them for $.55 per pound. And we fought the beetles and the sun and the unripe blueberries to get the ones we have.
This little guy, with the blue eyes, ate every single blueberry he picked. His bucket was
empty. Later, he said, he hated blueberries. His plan was to eat them all so there wouldn’t be any more. I have no pictures of the kids picking – I was busy picking myself, and trying to pretend to look at each blueberry that they insisted that I look at because it was SOOOO HUGE. The whole time we were picking, Aunt Joyce kept saying, “We’re going to sell this country right out from under us…” She made me nervous. Is she right?
The u-pick farms are good for your kids — especially in this, “I picked these strawberries myself at the supermarket” culture. All winter long, you pull handful after handful out of the freezer. More benefits to blueberries, here.
You can find a national link to Pick Your Own Farms here. But many of the smaller farms (that have the best bargains) do not promote themselves. Check your county extension office, or do a search by state or country for pick your own fruit and vegetables. Here are links to the UK and Canadian pick your own fruit and vegetable sites. Or just get in the car with your kids, and drive through the countryside.
Oh, and what do we do with the blueberries? It’s a tradition here at our house to have blueberry pancakes every Saturday morning. Dad makes them. Here’s the recipe for blueberry cornmeal pancakes.
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Pingback: Recipe for blueberry cornmeal pancakes. - Susiej
My baby got that book as a gift after he was born. Dontcha love blueberries? (I guess you do!)
I love blueberries and we are lucky that they grow so well here–I have a friend who has several bushes and as long as the weather is o-kay she always has enough for her friends—and I mean enough to freeze, make jam or whatever.
Love the pictures.
Blueberries are the best. And that recipe looks fantastic.
(The book has always been a favorite at our house, too.)
My sister grows blueberries and then brings them for my mom! She puts them in the freezer and then puts them in her cereal!
I love the picture of your little fella… that must be why his eyes are so blue- all those blueberries!
Maybe you could put them in my brown sugar oatmeal pancakes as well? 🙂
I think the book — and the blueberries — are necessities in any household with small children. So glad to see that so many of you have the book too. As it was not in my house when I was growing up.
And yes, they would be great in those brown sugar oatmeal pancakes.
Nice to have people to share them with you.
We are spoiled rotten – my parents have 75 bushes at their place. The kids are headed there this weekend. I think I will have to put them to work.
(Thanks for the recipe too. Sounds wonderful.)
Lisa, the nice thing about blueberry bushes is that there are no thorns — so they will have fun. Don’t let the beetles get those blueberries — some of them are as big as the blueberries themselves!
That is my favorite book from childhood. During our yearly vacation in Maine, my twin got that title and I got “One Morning in Maine.” We must’ve been around 7 because we too were losing our teeth. Of course, we love “Make Way for Ducklings” too.
Wow I would love to have some of those. AT the start of your post I just kept thinking of blueberry pancakes…and then you mentioned it at the end. Now I am totally craving – here at work.
Oh, I love blueberries! Our whole family does, but they really are so expensive at the store. I’d love to find a Pick Your Own Farm near here. There’s a Pick Your Own Raspberry Farm nearby, but I haven’t found blueberries. We had actually just decided we’d plant some of our own blueberry plants on our property and see how they do. Hopefully, we can get them to grow. We’ll see.
Pingback: Susiej » Blueberries, Part II
Hi,
I thought I would mention that it looks like the word “propogate” is spelled incorrectly on your website. I’ve seen some tools to help with problems like this such as SpellAlert.com or WebsiteChecker.com. I just thought you should know!
-Rebecca