« Sam Writes: Raspberry Picking »

The raspberry says,
Drink your wine, but forget not!
I too am sublime

We picked the season’s first few half-pints of raspberries last week. As with any new task in the field, I think about how to go about it most efficiently. Crouching down next to that first raspberry bush, instinct took over. I closed my eyes and stuck my head right into the bush! I mastered this technique as a child, when a very special place in my grandma’s yard would become full of ripe raspberries. Ask a kid to find berries, and he will find them…and eat them. I learned early on that there are always two buckets whenever you are picking berries: the communal one you’re holding, and the one between your nose and chin. So again, ask a kid to find berries, and don’t be surprised when he comes back with rosy mouth corners and an empty bucket in his hands. My mom, hoping to bring some berries home, compromised and came up with what became my mid-summer mantra – one in the bucket, two in the mouth. That was still a bit hopeful, but at least I learned to save some for later. I’m sure all it took was one bowl of ice cream with raspberries on top to get me to seriously consider putting more in the bucket in my hands. This is a very important moment in my life for you raspberry eaters. 

I haven’t picked many raspberries since my childhood, instead cavorting with thimbleberries, huckleberries, and anything else growing nearby. But here I come back to my oldest friend, and it tastes really good. However, this time I’m on the production end, where “success” is not measured by how many berries I get to eat later, bur rather by how many berries you get to eat later. Good thing my happiness is no longer attached to putting berries in my mouth. I am moving into the realm of happiness derived from bringing you all the finest food we can grow, raspberries included.

As the weather heats up and your motivation to move fades, come grab a half-pint or three in the market, and find a shady spot to sit and smile. Or is eating plain raspberries not your thing? What’s the matter with you?! Absolutely nothing! Get some ice cream and really chill out, or mix up a fruit salad, or butter up some toast and top it with honey and berries. Let your imagination go, it’s likely that raspberries will blend well with what you’re feeling in the moment. Check out some of the raspberry products our neighbors have come up with that we have in the market. As a sweet tooth, I’ve been digging on Anna’s Raspberry Creamed Honey and Honey Ridge Farms Raspberry Honey Créme.

Happy rosy mouth corners in the coming weeks!

Love,

Your rosy-fingered friend