We had such a good time on our strawberry picking outing in June that we planned to return to the same farm for more picking. (Did you read Elizabeth's inspiring and informative article about these memorable family times in the fruit field?) And so last week we actually went cherry picking twice. After the first batch of 39 pounds was cooked or tucked away in the freezer for winter cobblers and all the pie was eaten we realized we wanted more pie. So we went back and picked just a few more - another 18 pounds. Here are some pictures and things we learned along the cherry way.
Cherry orchards are beautiful, idyllic places to be on a hot summer day.
Cherry trees are nice if you are wearing brown pants and want to camouflage yourself as a tree.
Picking cherries is easier than picking strawberries as you don't have to bend down.
Even though they are certainly not blueberries, you still have to say ker-plink, ker-plank, ker-plunk with every cherry you drop in the bowl. You also have to run through the orchard and hide now and then to make sure there aren't any bears, large or small.
Even rangers like to pick cherries as long as Farmer Maggot isn't around.
You might find some lovely surprises in the cherry trees,
as well as some most unusual nests.
Picking cherries makes you happy.
Sometimes you have to stretch up really high to reach the cherries.
Sometimes you don't actually get to pick cherries when you go cherry picking, but you have the privilege of holding down the branches so a little person can carefully do the job.
Sometimes you just have to go off chasing the little one when she decides it's time to 'fly like a birdie'.
We don't cry over spilled cherries - we just laugh and pick them all up.
Lots and lots of cherries make a pretty sight.
If you were foolish enough to wash your hair right before cherry picking a kind ranger may lend you his cloak to keep the gnats from swarming around your flowery smelling head.
But beware - he'll most certainly take your picture if you try to dash about in the field making your cloak fly.
It takes a long time to pit 39 pounds of cherries.
But taking turns is nice and a handy dandy cherry pitter is worth every penny.
Lattice topped pies certainly look beautiful but the best tasting pie is with French crumb topping made with lots of butter and just a bit of almond extract. Not that we are opinionated or anything - that's just the general consensus here. Deciding on whipped cream or ice cream is up to you. :-)
There are also a few more ideas for using sour cherries over on my cooking blog.
