Picking Blueberries

Brandywine Farms

Remember how I mentioned that berries might just be one of my favorite parts about summer back when we were talking about Farmer's Markets? Well, we were invited by a friend to pick blueberries this week. Um, berries?! Yes, count us in!

Yesterday we loaded her car with two car seats, two baby boys, two diaper bags, and two mugs of coffee (Henry must have been excited about the blueberries 'cause he was ready for the day at 5:30am. what's going on with that?) and headed out to Rolla for some old fashioned summer fun at the Blueberry Farm.

The Missouri weather was awesome - being a Texas gal, I just can't get over how nice a summer of 80's and 90's with rain is. Most of Texas is either shriveling up under 110 degree weather and drought or literally burning up in massive wildfires. (Send up a prayer for all those farming communities, please.) Which means many small towns are canceling fireworks this year in order to keep the crops and homes in their area safe. So while half the country seems to be drowning, the other half is in desperate need of water. I know, I'm off on a tangent, but I worry for my home state when it gets like this. Back to berry business...

We had temperatures in the seventies along with clouds left over from a rain storm; the grass and berry bushes were still damp from the morning dew - perfect pickin' weather. :) We were each handed a little plastic bucket and shown a row of blueberry bushes, and we were off. Pickin' and chatting and laughing and, yes, popping a few of those deliciously cool berries into our mouths. It was such a fun morning, and I left with over a 1.5 pounds of blueberries for $3.60. Seriously, you can't get a pint in the store for that price!

With 4th of July right around the corner, I'm planning on having a blueberry theme going on with our food for the weekend. Brandywine Farms had a great looking blueberry scone recipe they were handing out. I'm going to have to layer some of these sweet little guys with strawberries and whipped cream for a Red, White, and Blue look. And, there is most definitely going to be a blueberry cobbler to devour somewhere in this coming weekend. I'll let y'all know how it all goes; right now I'm just enjoying my berries over a bowl of oatmeal.

Have y'all ever been to a pick-your-own farm? Its not just Pumpkins and Christmas trees; you can find produce all year long at farms like those. What are your family plans for the 4th? Any patriotic recipes you're planning on whipping up? Is there a burn ban in your area or do you get to pull out the sparklers and bottle rockets this year?

Brandywine Farms provided buckets for picking, but if you're looking for your own basket to take along to a Pick-Your-Own Farm, check out Amazon:

p.s. Have a baby who loves blueberries too? Check out our Blueberry Puree Recipe!