summer: fresh picked fruit

We love fresh fruit. We love even more to pick our own. Here's why..

"One way to jump-start eating healthier and more pleasurably, while burning fewer fossil fuels: Pick your own. Buying from a local farm eliminates the carbon costs totted up in "food miles," the distance food is trucked or flown from farm to plate. Locally grown produce travels an average 56 miles from farm to institutional markets, while conventional produce travels an average 1,454 miles, or almost 27 times as far, according to a study by the Iowa State University Leopold Institute for Sustainable Agriculture. When you go to the farm, you're getting the fruit at its freshest; while it's true that you've travelled, and not the food, well...you've still supported a local farmer, which strengthens the local food system."-- Source

We also find it important to model and demonstrate healthy living for Logan. Children are sensory learners and learn best with experience. Picking your own fruit and vegtables builds a strong foundation for beginning to understand where some of our food comes from. 

Logan loves picking fruit and being able to share it with family. We pick enough to eat, enough to share, and enough to be able to make a sweet dessert. 

This time around we found a new pick-your-own spot, and we plan to have many more return visits.

these days

• We've been practicing patience. [not pictured above.] 
• Lo went to her very first movie with her aunt, uncle, and cousins. She had the best time-- even though she couldn't tell me anything about the movie. But she did tell me how delicious the popcorn and soda was.
• We've been exploring the idea of homeschool-preschool. I may even doing a little curriculum planning to see if it's something we can manage.
• Lo and I have a ton of mama/baby time with daddy working 50+ hours a week. So needless to say, when it's the weekend, we soak up as much of daddy as possible.
• We spend a great deal of time poolside, mostly in. My girl is a fish, no doubt. The weather has been so disgusting hot and humid that if we are outside, we need to be in the water. I'm over this permaheatwave. Like for real.
• We have been forming budgets and keeping to them without much struggle. Such an accomplishment for us :]
• We have been eating fresh and local mostly with a few cheats here and there. There are many summer-months birthdays in our family, so cake is too often at the ready. 
• We haven't ventured out for many play dates lately, as much of our time is spent in our own backyard. But I did find a weekly story time/craft at the local library that I would like to take Lo to.
• We have been getting close to a daily dose of cousin time, which Lo is loving. These boys have her heart.
• We have been reading a lot of books these days, a lot more than usual. Often I catch Lo in a self made pillow nook somewhere with books.

strawberry picking

Today we headed out to our favorite local farm and went strawberry picking. The tractor wagon took us out to the wet, marshy, fields where we filled our produce bins with berries, berries, and berries. We were in our sweet [literally] glory. Strawberry scents filled the air, and the sights looked as sweet as they smelled. 

The ground was quite soggy to say the least [yesterday we received 5 inches of rain] but we didn't let that stop us. 

This is one of my favorite early summer traditions we have created with Logan. And I think it's hers too, my sweet red handed berry thief. Sco, Lo, and I are all huge berry enthusiasts, and look forward to picking them fresh and local every year.

Any early summer traditions?
Any strawberry recipes?
All are welcomed :]