Blueberries for Fatty

 

 

 

I woke the girls early this morning, met a friend at the coffee shop for some to-go treats and then we hit the berry patch.  The only blueberry picking I had done before was in Alaska on our honeymoon and those little gems were wild and everywhere in Denali National Park.  This experience was entirely different and so fun.  No bending over like with strawberries and no thorns like with raspberries.  The sun was shining and the temperature was in the low 70's.  Indeed, it was a glorious morning.  As soon as the first berries fell into my bucket, the girls said the plink sound reminded them of Blueberries for Sal, one of our favorite storybooks.  I love that book! I wish I could say that I was planning on canning these like Sal's mother.  I'll probably bake batch of muffins or scones, or maybe a coffee cake and the remaining majority of the 17 pounds will be frozen for Fatty, who likes a handful in his cereal every morning.

Comments

[melissa]

we're going this saturday. I love them dried and added to granola.

[heather smith jones]

My M. would be soooo jealous. They are his fave! Your morning sounds delightful. :)

[Mama Urchin]

Blueberries freeze so well. We might pick some this weekend. I hope we have weather like you had, sounds perfect.

[tara thayer]

love: these photos, that book, coffee cake, and your laces. plink.

[emily]

plink. plank. plunk.

[heather]

YUM!! Nothing beats fresh blueberries! I made a blueberry upside down cake last year- soooo yummy, made a great breakfast!

[Account Deleted]

those little wild alaskan blueberries? my goodness, so good.

sal is a hero here, too... kerplink, kerplank, kerplunk... we're going on our first berry picking adventure tomorrow... i can't wait (yes, we're only now creeping into strawberry season).

[Jenny]

We named our son after the mountain, Denali. We picked blueberries for the first time, this year, at a little place called Blue Bayou Farm, right around the corner. We made muffins, pancakes, and a huge pie, plus had some fresh for snacking. I would love to make some blueberry simple syrup next time, for drinks!

[domesticali]

I have never picked a blueberry. I think it's one of those things to add to the giant to-do before I'm old and crusty list. A well timed trip overseas just might be in order...

[Krista]

SEVENTEEN pounds of blueberries!!!! Wow! How lucky. That would cost a small fortune up here. I haven't picked wild blueberries since I was about 5 years old visiting my grandparent's cottage in rural Quebec...sigh. Thanks for bringing that back for me!

[Kim]

Hooray for blueberry picking. My son turns five next month and we've made it a tradition to go blueberry picking on his special day. We live in North Pole, Alaska. I love the wild adventure of picking our berries, but to pick seventeen lbs is unimaginable to me! Enjoy your yummy berries.

Oh by the way, I've been following your blog for awhile now...I can't remember how I happened upon it, but I love to stop by every once in awhile and see what crafty things you are up to. I made your twirly skirt for my daughter a couple of years ago and have material ready to make a couple more. Thank you for the easy to follow pattern...I loved it.

[leslie]

love those photos, erin. xx

[Erin]

you are welcome, kim.

[rachel]

I think this is one of the best post titles ever!! :) xo, rach

[patricia]

What a lovely morning. They look delish!

[Plain and Joyful Living]

So beautiful!! About two more weeks and we will be picking up here!
We will have about a cup full from our newly planted bushes this year, but for the rest we will be visiting a blueberry farm.

[Candice]

Those look soooo delicious!

[Bridget]

The pictures are beautiful - you captured the day and hopefully the day captures your summer... :)

[Ann]

Wow! they look so good and I would make muffins - yummy

[knittingoutloud]

Another wonderful McCloskey book is "One Morning in Maine". The town he wrote about still looks just the same.

[Lasso the Moon]

I love that book, too! The illustrations are wonderful. I've only been able to pick my own blueberries once, and they were the best I've ever had. What fun!
Anna

[muralimanohar]

I have Blueberries for Sal floating around my house somewhere...it's pretty much a rite of childhood, isn't it?

When I lived in Indiana in the country, we had a wild blueberry bush in the woods just behind the house; and our nearest neighbor had a whole greenhouse (actually, net house? Frame covered in net to foil the birds) full of them, which we had carte blanche to go pick whenever we wanted. :D YUM!!

[lisa s]

omg. i had completely forgotten about blueberries for sal until just this moment....

thank you.
now i want to pick blueberries....

[Erin]

you have to read that book to f!

[geek+nerd]

I went picking last weekend and I'll be going back this weekend as well! There is definitely canning in the plans for me, but luckily my mom and I embark on these berrying adventures together, so the job goes quicker.

I *LOVE* Blueberries for Sal. Growing up in southern New Hampshire - very near coastal Maine, Robert McCloskey's books were always so special to me as a kid, and I look back on them fondly. They perfectly capture what it is like to grow up in that corner of the world :)

[Fun Mama - Deanna]

I love blueberry picking! We go to The Berry Farm in Spencer County, one county over from Jefferson. They also have blackberries and the prices were great. I went several times this summer, and my blueberry-lime jam that I made with their berries is wonderful.