MY BOGGY BLOG: find your way through the murk

Strawberries and Sleepin' In

Unfortunately, It's not ME sleeping in... I just got home from a business meeting, 11 am, to find all the kids still asleep! Their bodies have quickly adapted to the summer routine of staying up late and getting up late. I try to get them to go to bed at midnight, but I'm not sure if they really do... sometimes I find it hard to begrudge them a more relaxed summer schedule because I know they-- especially the twins, who will graduate next year-- will be entering the adult world of responsibility soon enough. But yesterday I had no problem waking them up earlier...

... to go strawberry picking! We try to do this every summer, drive out to a pick-your-own farm in Afton, to pick the sweetest, best-tasting strawberries that you will never find in a supermarket. This year it felt like a lot of work, since the berries were small and it took a lot of picking to fill our containers. But it was definitely worth the labor, and it gets us all out in the sunshine, on a farm (which is a big deal for this nerdy family who prefers to stay inside a lot of the time). We came home stained with berry juice, full of fruit (sampling as you pick is not discouraged), and now there are 30 lbs of berries in my fridge!

I'll get some help with the cleaning and picking-off-the-stems, and then most of them will be frozen on a cookie sheet in batches. They go into freezer bags and then you can take out as much as you want throughout the year, for smoothies or with some yogurt or for desserts.

The season is late this year, so there are still a few weeks to get out there and pick. I highly recommend it!