Strawberry Adventures: Part 1

This is just a quicky post. I promised I'd write about our pickin' and jammin' this weekend, but I won't be able to until later this week. As it worked out, Sunday's jammin' session ended up happening off-site. And, after about 6 hours of sweaty work, I glanced around the kitchen on our way out, and completely forgot about the camera! So I only have three pictures I had already downloaded, from our picking time on Saturday.

Of course, they all include Flat Stanley! Who, as it turns out, was also forgotten in the kitchen with the camera. (Wonder if we'll find any interesting pictures when we get it back??)

Anyway, that first picture is obviously of the field where we picked. There was another, equally large field behind this one, and as we left, we passed by yet another field where workers were picking berries for retail sale. That's a whoooole lotta berries!

We ended up only having one friend with us in the field--our other friend had to take a detour, and by the time he got to the field, we were gone. (Miss Chef and I had both left our cell phones at home--omigosh, can you imagine??? lol) The three of us picked seven gallons of berries in probably less than an hour. And then we went out to lunch, because, you know, woman shall not live on berries alone.

Although, a sun-warmed fresh berry eaten at the edge of the field, with the scent of fresh cow manure wafting across the land, to remind you of the truth behind your food...well, that's just good living.

I had forgotten that Lisa of Laughing Orca Ranch once lived just across the border in SC--Lisa, we may very well have picked at the same field! We went to Springs Farm, in Fort Mill, SC. They're better-known for their peaches, but they grow all kinds of berries, too.

The only thing I don't like about them is that they're not an organic farm, so I assume they use chemical fertilizers and pesticides. And they probably use some genetically-modified strawberry plants. I mean, look at these monsters:

Ah well, at least they're local, and super fresh. The berries that were on the plants Saturday morning were canned and sealed by 4:00 Sunday afternoon.

But that's a topic for another post...and a few more pictures!