Strawberry Heaven

Yesterday was the perfect day for picking fresh strawberries! The sky was overcast and it wasn't so hot that we'd all feel like a bucket of fried KFC by the end of our trip. The rows between the berries aren't large enough to accommodate strollers or wagons, so we figured it was best to leave Oliver, 10 months, with Grandma. Mary, our 15 1/2 year-old daughter, stayed home too. She didn't think picking strawberries was thrilling enough to rip herself from the comfort of her cozy bed.

We arrived at Jelli's Market in Helenville mid-day. On the way in, guests are greeted by a parking attendant dressed like a strawberry (very cute; however, I'm sure this tween boy was mortified if/when his friends came through)! The crowd was small which made the trip even more pleasant.

Before getting in the picking line, Connor wanted to stop and say "Hi" to the chickens. They were so attentive and interested in what he had to say!

And.....We stopped for a quick picture at the Jelli's photo spot. I thought about asking strawberry boy to take a picture with Travis in it too, but I didn't want to pull him away from his traffic directing duties.
Then we headed on over to the starting line where this pretty young lady showed us the way to strawberry heaven.

We made our way down the long row with flats in hand to our starting point which was marked with a little yellow flag.
Connor and Travis took one side and I took the other. I loved the popping sound the berries made when pulling them from their stems. It was as if they were held on by a tiny suction cup! At first, Connor was helping pick the strawberries...

Until he realized how much fun it was to eat them! I offered to pay for an extra pound at the end, but the attendant said, "Aw, that's okay, we encourage eating." Well, had I known that...

Before leaving we made sure to swing by the curious calves to say "Moo." Connor enjoyed his conversation with them too. Strawberry picking was an annual tradition in Travis' family and I'm happy to say, it will now be a tradition that continues on in ours. If you've never gone, you must...period.