My in-laws have the biggest raspberry patch I have ever seen! I’m not even kidding… it’s huge! It’s so massive a small child could get lost in it without proper supervision… Ok, maybe I over-exaggerate a little, but still, it’s big. Anyway, when the raspberries are ready to pick it becomes a full time job to keep up with them. Luckily though, I already have a full time job, so those responsibilities fall on Jan and Kabel (and I truly feel bad for you two). But seeing how during the summer Jordan and I enjoy having a bowl of fresh raspberries for breakfast, we have to venture down there to pick enough to last us the week. Well this week, that task was squarely on my shoulders since Jordan went up to the cabin. So I woke up early today (gotta get out there before the sun makes it too hot to pick), put on my rubber boots and bug spray, tied a bucket around my waist and I was ready to go!
I get out there and the patch is exploding with berries! It was a pickers paradise! I have to admit that I am a pretty good raspberry picker; I have nimble fingers that let me pull the berries off without crushing them but my hands are also big enough to hold onto a bunch before I have to put them in my bucket. I’m not too tall so bending down to get the lower berries doesn’t suck too bad, but I’m tall enough that I can at least be spotted when I’m deep in the patch. And also, being taller helps when you have to reach way into the patch – cause inevitably, there’s always going to be that absolutely perfect berry that you spot that is just barely out of reach and you have to get up on your tippy toes and stretch way out to be able to grab it.
With Buster Brown there to keep me company, I started picking. Now picking comes with it’s occupational hazards such as scratches on your arms or the horrors of when you are about to pick a berry and just before you touch it you see that it has a big, gross spider on it. Oh and also, sometimes I forget that they have a plastic owl up to keep the birds away and occasionally I will look up and see it and get scared cause I think an owl is about to attack me. But all in all, picking raspberries is great! Today I could stay in the same spot for 5 minutes and not run out of berries to pick there! And I swear they were ripening as I was picking cause I would stay in one spot and pick and go to dump my bucket into the pans I had off to side and I would walk back and see tons more berries that I missed! So after about an hour, I had two pans full of fresh raspberries to eat this week as well as the realization that summer really is the best time of year!
hahaha - you totally were not exaggerating, a small child could definately get lost in that patch. I was hoping you would post pics of some sweet war wounds! I recruited Nate to come pick cherries with me today. We had to climb up on to the top of the roof to get the best ones - but we both almost fell off the roof b/c it had rained the night before and it was super slippery. Oh the things we do to eat those delicious berries! miss you!
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