Blue Heaven

The Bean was free one morning last week, so we headed to a local blueberry farm. Slathered with sunscreen, hats jammed on our heads, we moseyed down this dusty lane to the blueberry fields.

Buckets bungee-corded to our waists, the better for two handed picking, we headed into the bushes.

It was a lovely blue and blustery day, and there weren't too many people out, so we almost had the place to ourselves. The brisk breeze kept the heat at bay. Even if there hadn't been blueberries to pick, I would have enjoyed wandering up and down the rows of bushes, wishing the butterflies wouldn't flutter so much, so I'd have a better chance of photographing them. Needless to say, they kept on fluttering and I got no butterfly pictures.

The farmer stopped his tractor to talk to us. Friendly fellow. Told us all about their war with the waxwings this spring; how to identify the different varieties, and the merits and demerits of each. He gave The Bean advice on how to manage his little blueberry patch at home, how to get the best yield etc. When the talk got technical, I wandered off, picking and munching, munching and picking. Their policy is eat all you want, pay for what's in your bucket. The berries in your belly are free. Of course, if you overindulge you'll pay later anyhow!


"I'm so glad I'm tall," the Bean observed at one point.
"Why so?" I asked.
"Because it looks like only short people were here before us. The lower branches are bare, but the higher one are loaded."

One of many reasons to give thanks for tallness.

"Imagine if you were a bear and you came out of the forest into a clearing like this? "
"I guess you'd be one ecstatic bear."

When the random Beanisms turned into
"If I eat one more blueberry I'll be sick," we knew it was time to go home.

When we took our loot to the shady weighing and paying stall we had exactly four and a half pounds. They didn't do a before and after check of what WE weighed! We paid about half what we'd have paid in the grocery store. The hiking and the fun, the birdsong and fresh air were free.



Made two batches of muffins that afternoon. One healthy and not too exciting, the other not as healthy, but luscious and lemony and sweet. A recipe for Mrs. Flaherty's Blueberry Coffee Loaves sounds tempting, AND it makes FOUR loaves. Blueberry vinegar sounds worth a try. Four pages, both sides, of recipes from the farm. And I still have last year's lot. And of course I'll have to make blueberry cobbler, and blueberry crumble. And we can't leave out blueberry peach pie.....Now that Rise is here I think we'll have to make another trip.