A Berry Good Morning
This morning, Tiny, Buba and I went strawberry picking. We went up to Parlee Farms (where we’d gone apple picking in October) and were supposed to meet up with a bunch of other moms from our town. But when we arrived at the entrance at about 10 minutes past the time we were supposed to get there, I didn’t see a single person from our group*. I asked around the farm stand to see if anyone knew of their whereabouts, but no on seemed to have even heard of our town’s little family organization. We certainly hadn’t driven 30 minutes just to go home empty handed, so I picked up a basket and followed the signs for strawberries.
We ended up in a good sized, but not enormous, field where I felt comfortable letting Buba and Tiny walk around on their own. I gave them a little talk before releasing them from the confines of our double stroller- Stay right by Mommy. Only pick the red ones. The bigger the berry the better. Stay right by Mommy. Put the berries in the basket- no eating until we pay. And stay right by Mommy.
Tiny was great at following my directions. She’d run ahead a little, pick one or two strawberries and then come right back.
Buba had a harder time remembering all of my rules. He ran off frequently, and didn’t come back when I called him (grrrrrrrr). When he went in for his first strawberry, he squeezed so hard that he squashed it completely and came back with a sticky hand and juice running down his arm. He did better when I showed him how to pull them gently, but still needed reminders about not putting the berries directly into his mouth.
Buba was restricted to berry picking while holding my hand for the last 10 minutes or so, but over all, I think our trip was pretty successful. And I’d definitely do it again. Buba and Tiny loved the juicy, delicious strawberries that we picked. They’re sure to be gone in no time.
*We ended up seeing a couple of the moms and kids from our town when we returned to the farm stand to pay. It turns out that our group was in a completely different strawberry field. Oh well. Still fun.
How fun. Maybe we’ll go now that Tom is home for the summer!
Looks fun!! Don’t you love it when you are supposed to meet Moms and can’t find them? Its happened to me. 
What a great experience! And it’s wonderful that Tiny and Buba followed directions so well. There’s hope yet that one day we’ll be able to release our girls from their stroller! HA!
Oh we LOVE Parlee Farms! I need to remember to go back there. LOL! The first time we went (blueberry and strawberry picking), Burke ate so many blueberries he got sick…and hasn’t touched them since! (It’s been about 3 years!) CUTE pictures!!
How fun! And they still look so clean at the end!!!