Blueberry picking

It's blueberry season here in Michigan! We love the amazing blueberries that grow locally. We have had fun picking wild blueberries as we walk around in the woods, eating as we pick. I have been especially excited for our favorite blueberry farm to open so we can stock up for the winter.

 This year, Hank got to play with his friend Emma while Jed came with Dave and I to pick berries. I think Jed was pretty excited to be out with us on his own. He was certainly excited to pick green blueberries. This boy LOVES things that are sour, and green blueberries definitely are. After a while, we just gave up asking him not to pick and eat the green ones. It's a losing battle.

 The bushes were laden with berries. The farm had just opened up on Saturday, so there were still plenty of berries. We picked for 3 hours and only moved about 20 feet down the row. It had rained all weekend, so it was quite damp, but it was a beautiful morning for picking.

 I love to pick blueberries. I start inside the bush and then work my way outside, picking as I go. Blueberries have no thorns, so it's really easy to get right in there.

 Look at those beautiful red leaves hiding in there. Fall is already in the air here in our part of Michigan, and I told Jed several times that we were like bears, picking berries for the winter. Only we'll save most of ours to eat during the winter, instead of eating them all right away and sleeping all winter.

After running some errands, we picked up Hank and came home to deal with our haul--30 lbs of blueberries! We decided to freeze most of them, and I made a dubious batch of blueberry pie filling. We are also going to dehydrate about 5 pounds--as soon as our dehydrator comes from Amazon. I am so pleased with our harvest and excited to try a new way of preserving it. I love to eat gorgeous blueberries in the middle of winter and be reminded of a great summer!