The Truth About Berry Picking

There is this back road I can take to get to another back road, that takes me to the 'back route' to get to my parents house. I don't go over there very often, but the other day I did. And guess what I saw - yep - the Strawberry Stand that's located on the corner back there IS OPEN!

WHOO-HOO! I love fresh strawberries. And I'm not talking about the ones from the grocery store that you have to 'sugar' to make sweet. I'm talking fresh-off-the-vine-that-grows-in-the-ground fresh! Every season I go and get some, and every season I wish I would have gotten more. So I'm super excited right now. 

And as I was planning my next trip to the berry stand, it made me think of the first time I went berry picking when I lived back in Connecticut. We lived close to a place called 'Jones's Farm'. They had everything: Christmas Trees, berries, a ton of stuff - you could go there year around. Well, during a visit from my best friend, we thought it would be fun to go strawberry picking. I had never done it before, and I actually really liked blueberry picking, so off we went. To get to the strawberry patch we had to take a ride on the 'Very Merry Berry Ferry' (which is actually a flat bed type truck). Once you get out to the patch, you're then given general 'parameters' of your 'picking area'. Once you're assigned your spot, you take your little basket and start picking. 

Okay, so I'm not sure what happens to me when I get into my little berry picking area, but it's like I entered the 'crazy zone'. First, I get really competitive with other 'pickers'. I'm watching where they're going and I don't like seeing people reaching over into my area. Also, being on your hands and knees is hard stuff! It's really back breaking work. The sun seems hotter, the dirt seems dustier and those berries become prize possessions. And during that trip - we did work hard. Or at least it felt like it, because as we were climbing onto the Berry Ferry, I started to feel a little weird. Once we were sitting, I turned to my BFF and said, 'um... I think I'm going to faint...' and instantly she she took action. (this stems from an incident back when we were in high school where I cut my hand on a broken glass while washing it and I fainted. She actually thought I died because she saw my eyes roll up into my head) She had me lay down and kept saying, 'Eat a strawberry - I think they contain water!' And while I was trying to drink my strawberry, I remember everything was  spinning and I kept thinking 'Don't fall off the Berry Ferry... Don't fall off the Berry Ferry'. I could just see the headlines, 'Asian Falls off Truck at Local Berry Farm'. Yeah. That would have been super embarrassing.

I don't know what is more pathetic: The fact that I almost fainted, or the fact that we were in our late 20's when this took place. 

Either way, I survived, and now I happily 'support' my local berry stand - and I fully appreciate every berry in that box!