Blue Skies Smiling at Me - Raspberry Picking

The raspberries start to ripen in mid-August in this part of Wisconsin, and they are in full swing right around the time the early apples ripen.  Most years I make a trek to Blue Skies Berry Farm, just a 10-minute drive from my house, to pick a flat of the best organic raspberries I've ever eaten.

Paul and Louise, the farm owners, are fascinating and erudite people, and they are committed to sustainable agriculture and farming using organic methods.  Louise told me that when she and Paul decided to raise raspberries, they were told that it couldn't be done organically.  Clearly the experts were wrong, as the berries are large and luscious, and beneficial insects like bees and thousands of ladybugs keep any pests at bay and fertilize the flowers.

The view from inside the main gate of Blue Skies

 Raspberries are clever little fruit.  While many berries are easily visible on top of the foliage,

many others hide discretely beneath the leaves.  The trick to successful berry picking is to look from below and lift the canes to find the treasures hiding underneath.  That's often where the best berries are, and I always feel a little thrill when I find a trove of them where no one has ventured to look.  Is it worth a few scratches and a couple of mosquito bites to find them?  Oh, yes, indeed!

It takes a couple of hours to fill a full flat of raspberries, but the work is quiet and contemplative for the most part.  The sun is warm but not too hot.  A hawk glides overhead, its cry piercing the underlying hum of the bees.  Crickets chirrup at the base of the berry canes.  A few Canada geese make a noisy test flight over the fields, and the bees swirl around unperturbed by human hands. We all share in the bounty.   Everyone and everything is gathering up food for winter, but for now the grass is still green.  We are mindful, though, of the waning of the season as the crimson leaves here and there on the trees tell us that autumn is beginning.

There is plenty for all, though, and tasting is encouraged.  Who could possibly resist?

 Once back at the barn, there are other treasures to be taken home.  Lou and Paul raise a number of vegetables in addition to their raspberries.  I choose some onions, garlic, shallots, and kale to take back.   Fresh, truly fresh, onions are garlic are a treat to be savored and are a far cry from the ones in the grocery store.  

Once home, the berries are carefully checked for any hitchhikers - six ladybugs hid in the pint boxes and were rescued and released into our yard.  The berries are then put into freezer containers and stored in the chest freezer in the basement where they will make jams and cobblers throughout the winter.

Pints and pints of berries!

Fifteen pints of berries is a lot of berries, but they are so worth it!