Not Quite Summer Cherry Picking
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It’s not quite summer… yet.
But here in Southern New Jersey, it sure feels like it! School is out, the weather is warm, the flowers are in bloom, and today… we went cherry picking!
I fondly recall my own childhood picking cherries as a fascinating experience that involved going up wooden ladders, balancing on the top step with a bucket in one hand, stretching & reaching up for cherries with the other.
Apparently, over the last twenty, er, make that thirty-odd years, things have changed a bit, and cherry trees have become shorter.
Or... perhaps it’s more likely that the farm we visited today just put the ladders away when the guests come around for picking. That, and… I’m a lot taller now than I once was.
Even ladderless, the three of us had a blast riding on the hayride out to the orchard, trekking out to find trees whose lower half hadn’t yet been picked clean, then picking – and occasionally eating – the delicious dark red cherries!
After our fingers were thoroughly red and sticky, and our baskets were full, we hopped a ride over to the strawberry fields for some strawberry picking!
The strawberry-picking season is almost over here (can you believe it?!), and many of the rows were nearly bare,
but the smell was still heavenly sweet – and so very summery.
Three baskets and a wonderful afternoon later, we headed home with our luscious fruit. It felt good giving my children the experience of seeing where their food really comes from (not in plastic clam-shell cases!). And, what a great way to kick off our Summer break - there’s not much better than picking your own fruit on a (not quite) Summer day!
So, now… do you have any good cherry or strawberry recipes? :)