Went above our goal and picked nearly 50 pounds of blueberries this morning

After our previous trip to the blueberry patch resulted in over 20 pounds of blueberries my wife and I knew that we would need to shoot for a goal of 40 pounds in order to have enough blueberries to freeze and enjoy all year long. We went above and beyond that by picking over 47 pounds of blueberries at Locke's Fruitful Acres just north of Volinia, Michigan. The picking was easy and you just can't beat the fun of picking your own blueberries and chatting away while you work. We honestly didn't know that we had been there for three hours when we were all finished. I now sit here typing this with sore shoulders, aching back, burning calves and the satisfaction of knowing we have enough blueberries put up in the freezer to enjoy at least one pound each week. Fresh Michigan Blueberries in the summer taste great and are extremely enjoyable. Eating blueberries in the winter over hot cereal, in pancakes, or pies is a great way to remember and appreciate the work it took to have such a treat in the winter and it helps (in some small way) to get through those darkest and coldest of winter days.

There's still plenty of blueberry season left so be sure to get out and enjoy some fresh Michigan blueberries! :)

Time once again to pick blueberries in Michigan

I noticed an uptick in the number of people finding our humble little blog here when they searched for "picking blueberries" or "u-pick Michigan blueberries" and the like. So, I figured it must be that time again when one of the tastiest Michigan fruits were ripe for the picking. A quick call to our favorite local blueberry farm, Locke's Fruitful Acres, confirmed that the picking has indeed begun. One huge local blueberry producer here in southwest Michigan, Leduc Blueberries, will not be having u-pick this year due to "due to extreme winter conditions." My goal this year is to pick around 50 to 60 pounds of blueberries. I had joked about it earlier this spring with my wife as we ran out of frozen blueberries that we had picked last summer that this year we needed to pick at least enough to have one pound of blueberries a week all year long. So, that's the goal anyway.

Locke's said their picking season will last about three weeks so we'll be making a couple of trips over there. It's too hard to pick 60 pounds in one morning with a couple of kids running around. Picking about 30 pounds per visit is much easier. I'll post our results later in the week :).

The blueberry picking season got me thinking about my favorite fruit produced here in Michigan. I would say that blueberries are my absolute favorite. How about you? Vote in the poll for your favorite Michigan produced fruit.

[poll id="30"]

It's blueberry picking time again in Michigan

I spoke with a neighbor today and he said that he bought about 30 pounds of already-picked blueberries the other day from Leduc Blueberries up in Paw Paw. This got me to thinking that I had better see if our favorite blueberry patch was open for picking yet. I spoke with a super nice lady (I believe it was Victoria Locke) at Locke's Fruitful Acres in Decatur and she said that the Duke variety of blueberries are on right now and that picking would begin tomorrow at the picker's own discretion. By this she meant that the Duke variety is a smaller somewhat tart blueberry and if folks come ready to pick the big sweet and juicier varieties they'll be disappointed.

The larger and sweeter variety (my favorite) might be ready for u-pick as early as next weekend. I am ready and waiting :).

Is there anything tastier than fresh Michigan blueberries heaped up on your cereal or ice cream? Perhaps only freezing some of those same wonderful berries so the experience can be parceled out all year long ;).

Blueberry Lemon Pie

This pie is light and refreshing. What you need:

• 1 small pkg. lemon gelatin
• 2/3 c. boiling water
• 1/2 c. cold water
• Ice cubes
• 3 1/2 c. thawed whipped topping
• 1 pint fresh blueberries
• 1 graham cracker crumb crust

Directions:

• Completely dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Combine water and ice cubes to make 1 1/4 cups. Add to gelatin, stirring until slightly thickened. Remove any unmelted ice. using wire whisk, blend in whipped topping. Fold in 1 1/2 cups of blueberries and chill until mixture will mound. Spoon into crust. Chill 2 hours. Garnish with remaining blueberries and additional whipped topping.

This recipe is from Locke's Fruitful Acres in Decatur. Give them a call at (269) 423-6536 to find out how the blueberry picking is going. They are open Monday - Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 12 to 6 p.m. Locke's also has a wonderful gift shop with many great country treasures to peruse.