bring your parka - it's strawberry season

on tuesday cole and i took an eagerly anticipated trip out to our favourite strawberry-picking farm.  we go there many times each summer, picking whatever is in season.  it's a bit of a drive, but their berries are fantastic and they have turned themselves into quite the a-rama kind of operation over the years.

all weekend i'd looked forward to it.  the farm opened on monday but we had plans, so tuesday loomed large - delicious berries on the horizon.  yes, i do get excited for picking fruit.  of course, on tuesday morning the sky was heavy, gloomy and overcast.  the weather report (which i don't listen or pay attention to unless i'm hoping it will secretly tell me what i'm seeing out the window isn't true) forecast a 70% chance of rain and stepping out onto our patio told me it was definitely not warm.  but, strawberries were a-calling and i do love me some fresh fruit.  i figured that if worst came to worst (had look that phrase up - it looks wrong when you analyze it) we could always just pay for pre-picked berries and at least we would have some yummy fruit to eat.

we barreled down the highway and as we got off at our exit and meandered down back roads it started to pour. buckets of very cold, very wet rain.  ah well, fine - so be it.  but of course, i figured that i couldn't let the fun of berry picking - not to mention the better value - pass me by.  by the time we had reached the farm the rain had let up to a light drizzle and we donned our hoods and brought out our wagon.

it retrospect, two things.  i would have left our wagon at home.  i knew the berry farm had wagons - why did i bring ours?  do i like washing mud off things?  and that brings me to my second point: dressing appropriately for the situation.  i had dressed cole warmly in layers and put him in rubber boots.  why did i wear a plain hoodie and flip flops?  ergh.  standing in cold mud in the rain in basically your bare feet is not fun.  

the rest of it, however, was great!  cole had a blast, the rain let up eventually, we ate a few berries and picked two big bowls full in no time at all, we caught three snails and pet the donkey, the much-loved milkshake shack was closed so we shared strawberry shortcake and brought home their homemade strawberry ice cream to make our own.  i think we'll go back in a few days - i like to pick a ton of berries so that we can freeze some (never enough - we always run out by thanksgiving) and make jam.  back to the berry farm, post haste!  next time: eighty six the wagon and bring boots!