Blueberries from Country Fair Farms, Franklinton, LA

In early June, here in Louisiana, the strawberries have expired from the heat and we are beginning blueberry season.  We are great fans of the blueberry, so, of course, we take appropriate action.

It was in the upper 90s yesterday, with a humidity to match yesterday.  (You always know it's more than humid when the outside of your windows fog over).  So we got up at 6:30 am, had a quick cup of coffee and was out the door by 7 a.m.    Our favorite blueberry place is Country Fair Farms in Franklinton, LA.   This is a pick your own kind of place for $1.50/lb or $8.00 for a 2-gallon bucket.  This is a big increase from last year, when the price was $1.00/lb, but still an incredible value.   Country Farms has 15 acres of Blueberries.

This is the earliest in June that we've been and I'd say they were about 25% ripe and ready, so picking took a bit more time.   In previous years, when the percentage of ripe was much higher, the blueberries almost jumped off the bushes and dived towards out buckets.   But, this year we had to select.   Next year, we'll wait until the 15th or so to go.

We picked up 6 buckets and selected a row for picking.   About and hour and a half later, we emerged with full  buckets !  We are not discussing how many we eat while picking.  And no, I'm not worried about eating them without washing.  We then pour the blueberries into plastic bags and place them in the scales.

And the Grand total came to 30 pounds of blueberries.

Once home, we transfer them to freezer bags, and yep, you guessed it, put them in the freezer.    Each week, we'll transfer some to a bowl to defrost and we'll use them on our breakfast cereal, in muffins and, my favorite, mixed in with chocolate pudding.
 
I love the summer months ... first strawberries, then blueberries, and any minute now the watermelon will be ready.