Right around the middle of July until the 3rd week of August it's game on. The blueberry bushes here in Upstate NY, are chock full of those delightfully tasty, nutrient and vitamin-packed, anti-inflammatory, heart-healthy, disease protecting, gorgeous, little purple marbles.
This year, before our first visit to the blueberry patch, the question I asked myself was, "I wonder how many more years we have left, where we will be able to make the jaunt?" As much as I hate to admit it, our physical abilities are waning, The trek to the blueberry patch is not like a walk on the beach, obstacles abound and the terrain is anything but a shuffle zone.
For the first time, our safety while on this hike has become a concern of mine.
Safety first, was not always the way I approached things, but "The Times They Are A-Changin".
Before our first venture out, we discussed the need to play it a little safer.
Our game plan was to slow the heck down and be mindful of every single step.
With this new game plan in mind, as @farm-mom and I have done for the past five years during this awesome display of #Mother #Nature's beauty, we ventured off into the woods and picked, and picked, and picked some more.
A good day of picking blueberries goes something like this.
9:00 AM - Jump on the four-wheelers and ride about 1/2 of a mile to the stream, pictured here.
Cross the sparkling, ice-cold water and hike about 3/4 of a mile to a field of blueberries that
makes your heart beat a little faster, as you start to contemplate the bounty that could be.9:30 AM - 1:30 PM - With your fingertips, you gently roll the berries, releasing the ripe ones
from their stem, sometimes gathering 8 to 10 at a time.
By the time 4 hours have passed, yourarmsbody is weary from reaching and stretching in every
direction while trying to capture every single berry in sight.The sun is now beating down on you and the bugs are ready for a meal.
1:30 PM - 2:00 PM - With our bounty in hand, we hike back to our four-wheelers, and make our way back home.
I don't know if you have ever eaten wild blueberries, but for me, the difference in taste and texture of wild blueberries and the blueberries I used to purchase in the store, is like night and day.
Their size may be smaller, and we all know why.
They are pesticide-free and you know what that means for you and me.😁
Pests there are many, but still there is plenty.
Our #Feathered #Friends eat from the same bushes, serenading us while we collect what has brought us both here.
Our goal is to fill seven of these containers every time we go on our blueberry adventure.
With all of the rain we have had this summer, the pudgy blueberries seem bigger than ever before.
2:00 PM - 4:30 pm - We remove the berries from the containers and lay them out on paper towels to absorb some of the moisture that has collected.
The next step is to remove all of the debris from the berries and lay them out on a tray.
The blueberries are then frozen as is.
On average, a 7 1/2 hour day yields 6 pounds of blueberries.
With a full day of hobbitizing in the bank and the little blue marbles now experiencing "THE BIG CHILL", it's time for us to chill as well.
This year we were able to hit the blueberry trail on 6 different occasions.
Our grand total for this season is 33.5 pounds, vacuumed packed, and in the freezer. 😁
No mishaps this year 😁, so with the Lord's grace we should be able to do it all again next BLUEBERRY PICKIN SEASON.