I hope everyone had a lovely day of sevens! I didn't go buy lottery tickets or anything, but I did enjoy the S-ness of it all - - seven seven seven on a saturday.
To celebrate (why not?) I went berry picking with Leslie and Bec on Sauvie's Island. Sauvie's is in the Columbia river, only about 15 min. from portland. It is beautiful and has a variety of amenities such as: very fertile farmland, views of at least 3 mountains on a clear day, home to many farms and u-pick fields (like the place we went today), a nude beach and a huge wildlife refuge.
(typical view -- these were hydrangea plants getting some water. This is kind of blurry, but the sharp one didn't have such pretty clouds. I chose clouds.)
Anyway. We decided at the last minute to just GO RIGHT NOW, which was such a good plan! I got sunburnt (hello, bra-strap mark I must now live with the rest of the summer despite my vigilant sunscreening), reasserted my inner Berry Badass (gloves? no way!) AND perhaps most importantly, I discovered that being a blueberry scofflaw is almost as fun as a hairdo scofflaw. (that's right! We picked berries (for aprox. 20 seconds) in the FORBIDDEN ZONE on the other side of the blue flag. Don't mess with us!)
(forbidden blueberries. yes, they taste better.)
What was ripe for picking today: blueberries, marionberries, and raspberries. We had to pick them all, of course. At only 1.50 per pound, it seemed wasteful not to.
(raspberry)
(they are huge!)
(marionberries are just fancy blackberries that only grow in Oregon and maybe Washington. don't let anyone tell you differently.)
In closing, I would like to say BERRIES (!) and recommend enjoying some however you can (u-pick, farmers market, etc.).
(any incoherence in this post I will blame on the sunburn, and maybe on scofflaw mania. Or possibly on my raspberry overdose.)
To celebrate (why not?) I went berry picking with Leslie and Bec on Sauvie's Island. Sauvie's is in the Columbia river, only about 15 min. from portland. It is beautiful and has a variety of amenities such as: very fertile farmland, views of at least 3 mountains on a clear day, home to many farms and u-pick fields (like the place we went today), a nude beach and a huge wildlife refuge.
(typical view -- these were hydrangea plants getting some water. This is kind of blurry, but the sharp one didn't have such pretty clouds. I chose clouds.)
Anyway. We decided at the last minute to just GO RIGHT NOW, which was such a good plan! I got sunburnt (hello, bra-strap mark I must now live with the rest of the summer despite my vigilant sunscreening), reasserted my inner Berry Badass (gloves? no way!) AND perhaps most importantly, I discovered that being a blueberry scofflaw is almost as fun as a hairdo scofflaw. (that's right! We picked berries (for aprox. 20 seconds) in the FORBIDDEN ZONE on the other side of the blue flag. Don't mess with us!)
(forbidden blueberries. yes, they taste better.)
What was ripe for picking today: blueberries, marionberries, and raspberries. We had to pick them all, of course. At only 1.50 per pound, it seemed wasteful not to.
(raspberry)
(they are huge!)
(marionberries are just fancy blackberries that only grow in Oregon and maybe Washington. don't let anyone tell you differently.)
In closing, I would like to say BERRIES (!) and recommend enjoying some however you can (u-pick, farmers market, etc.).
(any incoherence in this post I will blame on the sunburn, and maybe on scofflaw mania. Or possibly on my raspberry overdose.)
I love going out to the island. It is so quiet and relaxing. There is a shop somewhere out there that sells smelly soaps and such. By smelly I mean good, not stinky as in bad. The maize maze is also very nifty...
ReplyDeleteAh, what a wonderful memory! I had marionberries in my smoothie this morning!!!
ReplyDeleteBBD: There are tons of places on the island that I haven't checked out yet. I don't know why, but I guess that gives me something to look forward to. Shall I google "smelly soaps sauvie"? if you remember the name (or even where it is) let me know -- or come with us next time!
ReplyDeleteLeslita: we should go again soon! The marionberries should be getting even riper and I need more raspberries. (the box was tragically attacked by a raspberry monster who (according to this monster) MUST EAT raspberries by the handful or expire into a puddle of tears and disappointment.) So there weren't a lot left to freeze.
I would love to go! I know where the place is and how to get there, but I will inquire about the name. It might be something like The Blue Heron Herbary...actually, thanks to the whole google thing I can say for certain that it is called just that. It is sort of funky and the owner guy dresses up as Santa Claus, but only during that season. Anyway, I love the island and I can say that my clothes always stay on. Especially when picking berries...
ReplyDelete