We were invited to go pick strawberries this weekend at the home of some friends. Mom graciously (waiting to chortle gleefully after we left) agreed to stay home while Dad and I took the children off.
Oh yeah! We have our ‘official’ strawberry bags and are ready to go!
The children LOVED picking strawberries. They thought it was great fun. One of them even said something like, “This is really fun!”
The younger team of strawberry harvesters, working hard to fulfill their quota.
Joshua helped Sarah find berries and, when we realized David’s bag was a little “juicy” we encouraged him to avoid the rotten strawberries. It’s so hard to find good help these days. Have to train, train, train.
Joshua’s management style is a bit ‘hands-on’.
Boy, they just LOVED picking strawberries.
For about 20 minutes. Maybe even a full 30 minutes. Then the allure of the little pond in the center of the yard was too great to ignore. The next thing I knew, Dad was the only one picking strawberries and the children were loading up in boats. I was, er, checking on the children.
Rachel and Daniel embark on their perilous paddle boat voyage.
The rest of the crew waited for their turn. Dad continued to gather strawberries. He is definitely a man who sticks to the original mission. He wasn’t side-tracked by a little ole paddle boat.
Look at that waiting stance. These kids are ready for their turn.
After a little switching around, everyone found a place in a boat. Except Dad who (yes, you guessed it) continued to pick strawberries.
Look at that protective arm Daniel has around Sarah. He’s not going to let her fall.
Lewis and Clark had nothing on these two!
After I dragged the kids away from their boats, and Dad from the strawberry garden, we returned home. (For a ‘small’ berry patch it was LOADED with strawberries!) I think I spent a good part of the rest of the evening coping with the abundance of our harvest. Yum! These strawberries are absolutely delicious and taste just like a little bite of summer.
Table full of strawberries! Not a bad haul for an hour or so of picking. Of course, Dad did most of the work. 
After freezing several bags of sliced berries, I decided to make up a batch of strawberry muffins. Since I wouldn’t dream of traveling without my handy breakfast recipe folder, I quickly flipped to my mega muffin recipe and called imperiously for an assistant chef. Joshua did all the measuring, mixing, stirring, and tasting (basically Joshua made the muffins). I cut up the strawberries and poured the mix into muffin pans. And so, breakfast is ready for tomorrow morning.
I think Dad should get the first bite.
Kathy
Project 365 — Day 167
My, my, my! I’m so hungry. Want to come see me, Katherine? I’d have loved picking fresh, ripe strawberries from that nice person’s yard. What a generous friend! Those muffins will be a wonderful breakfast. Wish I had one now. Poor Tim no doubt drooled when he read this blog.
What FUN! We love to go pick raspberries here, but we don’t have anything FUN like a pond to lure us away from our picking!
Those look SO good!
Good thing you had dad along, what a worker, not even tempted by the boats!
I’m thinking strawberry ice cream is sounding awfully good right now! I am glad you are having such a fun time.
Cynthia – my favorite berry to pick is blueberries. No thorns (like raspberries and blackberries) and tall bushes. No pesky bending down or kneeling (like strawberries). Of course, blueberries are my all time favorite berry so that helps. Ha! I can’t wait to go this summer!!
Jodi – I think my dad had the vision of his breakfast cereal, topped with fresh strawberries, in the forefront of his mind. He was focused on the task!!
My mom told me that growing up, my dad was in charge of the strawberries (in their Virginia garden) and my uncle (my dad’s twin) handled all the flowers. Fun to think of them as young farmers.
Diann!!! You have it exactly. Last night I said we should make homemade ice cream with all of these berries. I don’t think my folks have an ice cream maker. Maybe we can borrow one from a neighbor. Do you have a favorite recipe?? Please share!!
Jerry wants some!! Delicious strawberries. AK
Yum! I love strawberries. Most commercial patches around here do not like children picking! Bummer! I need to ditch the kids someplace for a few hours and go picking.
Those muffins look heavenly.
Yummy! Can I have a muffin? Those look absolutely wonderful!! We have blueberries here but by the time they become ripe, the birds have snarfed most of them up….Those pesky birds!! Send your recipe our way, Kathy – we’d love to have it!
The boat looks like a blast. It’s something *I* could do!
I’m eagerly waiting for my chance to make Lee’s Strawberry Soup recipe. She posted it to SHS last summer, and I’ll post it to my blog when I give it a try (unless it’s dreadful, then I just might never mention it again!).
When we went to Washington, we LOVED picking berries! (Was it blackberries? black raspberries? It didn’t matter. They were great!)
Looks like a great day! Glad you are having such fun. I, unlike you, forgot to tuck recipes into the trailer…BUT I can find them on blogs. LOL