For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. Jeremiah 29:11-14

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Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Blueberries are here!

My family LOVES blueberries. While this picture is not the best (I took it with my cell phone), you'll have to trust me when I tell you that these berries were so sweet and juicy. Yesterday, in the misty, cool morning...which by the way, felt more like fall than summer...my kids, my niece Devon and I headed down the road to a blueberry farm. I LOVE visiting this place. The gentleman that owns it is such a sweet man and his place is BEAUTIFUL! We found him about two years ago, though last year we went to a different farm because they had a better price...won't be doing that again. These blueberries are so much better and so much closer, plus I just really like supporting a neighbor when I can. :) The blueberries from his farm are huge and so easy to pick. Can you tell I like his farm?

The kids and I picked for nearly an hour and managed to pick just over 25 pounds. By the time we were done, this 5 gallon bucket was just about full. Not bad work for a few teen age kids, a 3 year old and this mamma. I am planning on getting at least that much again, perhaps more. The berries we picked yesterday have found their way into my freezer and into pint jars in the form of jam. I made three batches of blueberry jam yesterday, for a total of 27 pints! That should last us a while. :) I only froze three bags of berries, in four cup portions. We will need much more than that in the freezer for pancakes, muffins and smoothies this next year....did I tell you we LOVE blueberries? :) I also want to try drying some for our baked oatmeal and granola. Perhaps I had better plan on more than just 50 pounds. :) CRAZY, I know, but I told you... :)

Here are my finished jars, ready for the rings to be removed and to find their new home on my pantry shelves. What a job that will be, my pantry is in need of some reorganizing. I should have done that before now, but there is always something else that needs my attention more. This year I plan to be more organized in my pantry and keeping better track of what I can and freeze for the coming year. That way I'll have a better handle on what we actually need and use each year.

3 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Oh we love blureberrie too! They are just coming into it here. I wish we could pick 25 pounds in an hour. Here in New Hampshire we pick the small wild blueberries. Much more time consuming that high bush, but they are tasty and free. My in law do have some high bush berries and I will head there to pick when they are ready.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment. I enjoy getting to know my readers. Hope you'll visit again soon.

Blessings, Elizabeth

Stacie, A Firefighter's Wife said...

I would love to make blueberry jam. It would be a refreshing change from raspberry (it's the fruit we grow). I want to pick huckleberries in the mountians this year. I'm going to do that instead. Thanks for visiting my blog!

Cinnamon said...

That all looks delicious! I love how canning jars look on my shelf :-) This year we won't have any but still they are beautiful :-)

~Cinnamon

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