Betty

Blueberry Fields Forever

The fields at The Pentwater Patch. A windmill is in the background.

Have you ever picked blueberries?

I recently picked blueberries for the first time in my life. And I picked them in Michigan with three members of my family.

The Pentwater Patch is a mere 6.3 miles from our campsite at Charles Mears State Park. The Pentwater Patch is generally open mid-July through August for blueberries. This year, I had seen on Facebook “the Patch” opened on July 20th. Perfect timing!

I asked around and my daughter, Talia, daughter-in-law, Allie, and son, Michael wanted to join me. Probably in that order.

We picked a beautiful morning and made the trek to the blueberry farm that had been open for 22 years. How I never noticed it before, I don’t know.

Michael, Allie and Talia
at The Pentwater Patch

We were given a bucket with a rope, instructions for moving a ribbon down the row to indicate where we had stopped picking and advice to just “tickle” the blueberry in order to pick it.

I’ve never tickled blueberries before.

The ripe blueberries were large and seemed to turn a darker shade of blue once touched. I tried hard to not drop any on the ground, but that did happen several times. I must have tickled them by accident. I didn’t want to waste any, even one. Hopefully, the birds or other wildlife enjoyed a treat. If nothing else, maybe the dropped ones become fertilizer?

It took about an hour, and then our bucket was filled near the top with beautiful, fresh blueberries.

Now I had another problem.

A bucket of blueberries is a lot of blueberries. Especially for two people. In a travel trailer.

Fortunately, it was near the end of our two week visit, so there was some room in our travel trailer refrigerator. The blueberry lady advised me to not wash the blueberries until we were going to eat them or use them in a recipe.

Before I was even back at the trailer, I could hear Dan saying, “What are we gonna do with all those blueberries?” Some things you just know.

As the days went by, we ate some, and I dried out the rest to take home.

Blueberries in different containers in the travel trailer.

Once home, we ate some more. We still had quite a lot of blueberries.

Now, blueberries can be frozen, but I was told once frozen, the blueberries are mushy. That’s fine for making smoothies or using in recipes.

However, I don’t do smoothies, and the last thing I need to do is to make sweets. Even if the sweets contain blueberries bursting with nutrients.

But as you know, I don’t like to waste food. I didn’t want the blueberries to go bad.

Fortunately, we have a neighbor who likes to bake and often offers her goodies free of charge on our neighborhood Facebook group. I have, on occasion, enjoyed a sweet or two from my friend around the corner. She gladly accepted my offer of blueberries.

When I dropped them off, of course, I told her to do whatever she wanted with the blueberries. However, as I walked away, Jennifer talked about making something called “Blueberry Lemon Whoopie Pies.”

Blueberry? Lemon? Oh boy! It was all I could do to not jump and shout out, “Whoopie!”

I just might be going blueberry picking again next year.

Talia picking blueberries

57 comments

  3. I grow up on Long Island, N.Y. We picked wild blueberries and would peek through the hedges to watch the prisoners work in the potato fields. It’s probably a mall today. Do I sound old? Well it’s a surprise for me but I’m only 74yrs. Claudia

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  4. Amazing isn’t it how many blueberries a bucket can hold! But the real joy I’m sure was making it a family affair. I believe someone once said “the family that picks blueberries together is the family that has fun together”. Or words to that effect. Have a great day!

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    • You are exactly right! It was fun because of who I was with. Plus I do love blueberries. Dan didn’t go. He stayed back and played Rummikub with Danny. Good family time for them, too. Have a great day!!

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  5. I’ve never picked blueberries, but I have picked Saskatoon Berries (known as Juneberries in the USA). It’s a lot of work to clean the fruit, but the rewards are very much worth it! Nice harvest, Betty and great photos – I can taste them from here.

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    • I grew up on a Saskatchewan farm where we picked Saskatoon berries every year. They are smaller than blueberries, more purple in colour, and much sweeter! My mother used them for pies and jam. Some farmers in Northern Ontario are growing Saskatoon berries that are occasionally available at roadside fruit stands.

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      • Another blogger, Terry, mentioned these Saskatoon berries, too. She is also from Canada. I will have to keep an eye out for these and try them. They sound delicious! Would you enjoy picking berries now – or did you have enough of that growing up?

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      • Saskatoon pies and jam are to die for! When we picked Saskatoons with my grandparents, I remember we each had a honey pail attached to our waists with twine 😊 Do you mind me asking where your farm was? We currently live in Weyburn, SK but lived in Melfort, SK for several years.

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        • I grew up near Melville, Saskatchewan and our berry picking happened in the Qu’appelle valley. I have great memories of Weyburn as my husband and I got married in the downtown United Church on Labour Day weekend, 1966. We will celebrate our 56th wedding anniversary in a month! We lived in Weyburn for a short time before moving to Regina and then to Eastern Canada.

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  6. Yum! That has happened to me with U pick strawberries. They look so good and I have trouble stopping at one flat of berries. One flat is a lot, and I remember picking more than 1 flat once. They do not freeze very well either.

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    • I could see myself getting carried away with strawberries, too! I guess it’s not the worst thing in the world to be overly enthusiastic about something! I will keep the one flat limit in mind should we ever pick strawberries! Hope you have a great day!

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  9. How fun to pick as a family and then have fresh fruit to eat! I’m not a fan of blueberries plain, but in an occasional muffin they are good. Did the plants have thorns?

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    • I enjoy the blueberries with other fruit – such as grapes, apples, cantaloupe and even grapefruit. The plants did not have thorns. I gently lifted the lower branches to pick underneath, so I didn’t have too much bending down either. I put our blueberries in the frig right away, but the kids put theirs in a bowl and left them out on a table for snacking. I may do that for some next year. They are good that way, too. My friend made lemon blueberry bread, and it was soooo good! I appreciate your cheerful comment!

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    • I had to Google what state outranks Michigan for blueberries – Washington and Georgia. Georgia was a surprise! Our two weeks in Michigan flew by. Between the wonderful weather and being with friends and family, I was in heaven! Cobbler is always good! Hope you have a good evening!

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    • Thank you for making the effort to learn something from my posts about American culture. I need to do that more often when I read your posts because sometimes I don’t always understand, and I’m sure it is a cultural thing. Sharing our cultures is a wonderful thing. Thanks for your comment, and enjoy your day!

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  13. There is actually a tool, a berry comb for Huckleberries and Blueberries that comes in handy when you pick the fruits on a farm or for a living. How about blueberry jam? It’s good if you add thyme and lemon juice, it takes the sweetness out.

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  14. Betty, what a fun outing with delicious berries to enjoy! Our Georgia blueberries are in season in June. I always freeze some for later by rinsing them, drying them with a paper towel, and placing them in a zip lock bag. I love to make blueberry muffins!

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    • I was surprised Georgia was number 2 in the nation for blueberries! I think next year, I am going to freeze some for later baking. I do like blueberry muffins, and I really like lemon blueberry bread. Thanks for your comment, and have a great day!

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    • Even though it has been so many years of visiting Pentwater, it seems there is always a little something new each year. There was one other new activity which will be the subject of another exciting post. 🙂 Hope you have a great week ahead!

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  18. Yes! We love going blueberry picking, and like you, we make it a family activity. I eat blueberries every day. When in season, Grammi and I will fill our freezer with 30 – 40 pounds of u-pick berries. It’s an attempt to have enough until the next year, but we still end up buying more at the local Sam’s Club before the next season comes. Frozen blueberries go in my morning oatmeal or smoothie. They are also great to snack on right out of the freezer. We also enjoy fresh blueberries during the season. When traveling, if I want to make Grammi smile all I have to do is suggest looking for a local u-pick farm. In addition to blueberries, we have picked raspberries, blackberries, apples, peaches, and cherries. Besides it being a fun activity, is is healthy eating. Have a great day!

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    • I am not surprised at the variety of u-pick you and Grammi enjoy. I will have to step up my game! It was fun, and I plan to do more. Maybe even freeze some. Hope you have a great day, too!

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    • Absolutely! It’s not really a problem, is it? 🙂 Perhaps next year I’ll name the post, “Blueberry Opportunities!” Enjoy your day, Marty!

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