Blueberries

Last weekend, the family went blueberry picking at an orchard located not far from the pond.  The official reason we went is that my entire family was present for the weekend and we were looking for a fun group activity.  The unofficial reason we went is that I love blueberries and with 6 pairs of hands picking blueberries instead of 2, I was sure to get a lot of blueberries.  Both plans worked out very well.

It was the opening weekend for blueberry picking at Stoecklin Orchards.  They began picking at 8 am and we got there about 11 am.  The owners said that by the time we got there over 100 pounds of blueberries had already been picked.  Not a problem for us though.  There were plenty left.

There was some concern among Laura, Emily and I (OK mainly me) that Suzanne and Heath would not hold up their end of the berry picking.  We took them strawberry picking a year ago and they shared one basket and still managed to pick less than each of the rest of us.  They claimed they were being selective pickers.  However, this year they were motivated.  It seems that Suzanne has promised to make a pie for a Fourth of July picnic dinner and felt the need to practice as she had never made one before.  She looked up an Ina Garten recipe before we left the house.  She needed four cups of blueberries to make this pie.  She has a pretty good eye.  She and Heath ended up picking about five cups of blueberries before they quit and waited for the rest of us to finish.  They made the pie and ate the rest.

For the readers of the blog who might be attending the same Fourth of July picnic that Suzanne is attending, have no fear.  She made a delicious pie.  Not only was it delicious but it was a thing of beauty.  Her pie was covered in dough cut that she cut and wove into lattice strips and then Heath added the finishing touch by using just a knife to make a leaf out of dough and adding it to her creation.  

I ended up getting a blueberry pie out of this activity and all the blueberries.  Emily was going to take her pickings back to Carbondale with her but she forgot them.  I knew this would work out well.