I have memories of picking blackberries in our back yard in Bolton growing up. I also have memories of my brother Jeffrey saying he saw a bear in those same bushes and we never went back there again! Or when my Aunt Sherry would visit us we would walk up the road, like 10 miles, to the farmers stand and purchase homegrown veggies, then walk back home up hill another 10 miles. All of these memories I have of eating veggies and fruit, fresh from local farms. Our last 10 years in Florida we were blessed with fresh fruit and veggies at our local farm stand. Gabe has picked blueberries in Virginia with his grandma, Apples in NJ with our best friends and strawberries in Florida with me. But not Raspberries. And never have we stayed over night at a farm, it sounded so cool and would be a great experience and memorable!
There was a Harvest Host in Shoshoni Wyoming, Raspberry de Light Farms. They were family run, the farm consisted of over 20 acres, plenty of room for us to come park, pick some Raspberries and enjoy an evening in the farmers field. Plus they were located on Hidden Valley Road!
Directions where great from the owner. We passed a local Wal-Mart to stock up on supplies and headed down the road. The farm was located about 5 miles off of the main road. On a dirt road. A dirt rutted road that had not seen rain in weeks probably. We are towing an all black car.
So we follow the signs and it brings us to this narrow road with trees on one side and a fence on the other. While Joe gets out to walk it and see where the road leads I call the owner. He is about 4 hours away, but no worries, he said just follow the road and pull into the spaces in front of the store. We can turn around behind the house if need be.
So we go down the driveway and cannot make the turn with the car and trailer. We disconnect the car and walk to around the back of the house where he said we could turn around. There was a haze of yellow as we came around the corner. Bees. Besides the area being to tight there were bee keeper boxes all around the edges. So instead of crying about it, I run for the camper with bees running behind me. Joe fires up the camper and makes a 10lb bag full of sugar fit into a 5 lb bag. I hate watching him while he does this. Makes me sick to my stomach, but it works. He wheels the trailer back to the camper, hooks up and I park right behind him.
All done. Now we can sit and look out at the farm surrounding us. It was beautiful. Rows and rows of raspberries. Floating above them like fireflies where the bees. Hundreds of them. All kinds. They were pollinating the bushes and most likely these where the owners of those bee boxes we saw out back. Tina is highly allergic to bee stings. And here we are, parked literally right next to the rows of Raspberries covered with bees.
As long as we didn’t go outside we were okJ That was fine. We were all set for the night, making dinner and watching the sun set over the fields. It was a beautiful sight. And peaceful. Again we were reminded how lucky we were.
The windows had screens so we were able to open them while we slept, it was one of those nights where you just needed a light blanket. We had been running the air conditioning 24 hours straight so it was really nice to open the windows. About 2 am the farmers dog started barking. And barking and barking. For hours. By the time the sun came up, a red orange ball of flames, the farm store was open, the farmer was out in the fields working his crops and we were ready to start picking!
The owner met us and told us a short story of the farms history. They started growing Raspberries because the prices of conventional crops were stagnant and costs of production was rising. They needed a specialty crop that they could raise on their farm that would make a better living for their family. Raspberries. Their season just started in August and only runs to mid October. Very short season. This farm is one of only a few that grow Raspberries in the state, so they get quiet busy with people coming to pick and purchase, plus they supply them to the local stores. With an abundant supply they freeze them as well as make jams, dressing and other various products to sell locally and to neighboring states.
We wanted to get out of there before people started showing up to pick and we would be stuck. Gabe and I went out and picked about half a pound. Plus we purchased home made Jam and vinaigrette!
It was an awesome experience. A little nerve wracking on getting situated with the camper, but once we were set it was great. And they happened to be the best Raspberries we have had yet!
No comments:
Post a Comment