It’s that time of year; local berries all over the place. Love it! I love the harvest season and I am determined to take part this year as much as I can. Today my friend Julia and I made our way to Michigan. We hopped in the car and only had to drive a couple of hours around the edge of Lake Michigan before seeing the sign for The Extraordinary Berry farm. It was awesome. We were the only pickers besides one other person and the bushes were full of delicious ripe berries. We had originally picked a spot from a site online but weren’t afraid to veer off course when we saw the billboard off the side of the freeway; we were happy we did. The owners Chuck and Coco McCallum have been there for 4 years and we were delighted to find out that they hadn’t sprayed the berries this season and they try their hardest not to have to. It is pretty difficult to find many organic berry spots in the area so this was next to best in the clean growing category. Julia and I grabbed a couple big baskets and picked for a over an hour gathering 3 pints of raspberries and 6 pints of blackberries each! I was most impressed by the blackberries and there balloon texture, size, and easy picking. I am having such a hard time describing the way that they felt in your fingers, other than small balloons, filled to the max, ready to burst.
We were sweating from the extreme heat and trying not to wipe or faces with our juicy stained hands but loving it. We could have picked all day! I could definitely be a farmer...or maybe a farmer’s wife so I can just harvest, prep and create things ;)
Our Harvest
Stained hands
My berries made their way back home with me in great condition and I’m all prepped to make blackberry jam and raspberry salsa tomorrow.
Thank you Extraordinary Berry farm. I will be seeing you again.
If you are ever interested in picking your own fruit around the U.S., go online to www.pickyourown.org. It’s a great site for seasonal fruit picking and offers information about farms all around the country.
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