Down On the Farm

Last week, Middle Child and I ventured to a new organic farm about 25 minutes away. It's a small farm, using the community supported agriculture model and some of the proceeds benefit the national park service (one of which is in their backyard).

It was a first for both of us. I had never seen blueberry plants, let alone picked any. It was fun and easy! The plants grow low to the ground, so we were able to just sit down and fill our baskets. I was impressed by the size and beauty of the blueberries on the plants. They grow in clusters, but do not all ripen at the same time. Many of the clusters had colors ranging from lime green to mauve to purple and then dark blue berries. We saw very few bugs, although Middle Child did inspect each and every berry she picked and did find a few tiny green worms. She's the queen of quality control.

While picking, a man with a large camera showed up. He was taking photos for a local travel and leisure magazine. He took a ton of pictures of us and asked for our names and hometown. I was a little self conscious, trying to act natural, all the while knowing that I didn't dress for a magazine cover!

We came home, washed all the berries and froze the majority of them for later use. The berries were not as sweet as the Jersey Girl ones sold at the grocery store, but they were tasty. Here are some photos of the berries we picked and the blueberry scones I made that same day.