Digging for Treasure

We went strawberry pickin' on Saturday morning.  (There's no other way to say it--it's "pickin," never "picking.")

This is a family tradition for us, which I love because it is active, outdoor work which teaches the kids about farming and rewards us with healthy, delicious fruit.  Love that!  We've been in all kinds of weather, but this year was perfection.  Sunny, with a cool breeze.

Pickin' strawberries is addictive, maybe because it's like digging for treasure.  You just keep thinking, what's under the next leaf?

And the strawberries are like treasure--like rubies--literally glistening in the sun.  We all love it!  We should get jobs in the fields, I tell you!

We got two gallons this year, which means I have to freeze most of them.  I like to wash, dry and stem them right away (I don't even bother with hulling).

I then lay them out in a single layer on wax paper-lined cookie sheets, freeze them for a couple of hours, then switch them into a freezer bag.  Doing it this way helps them stay separated, so we can pull out as many as we need each time.

Saturday evening, we had fresh strawberry ice cream, which went so fast I never even got a picture! Welcome to Summer everyone!