“Mountains and fountains
Rain down on me
Buried in berries
What a jam jamboree!”
—Jamberry by Bruce Degen
The Portland area is going nuts over Hood strawberries—folks getting to farmer’s markets early and buying as many as they’re able (as some growers limit the number of baskets you can buy), making jam to make the taste last all year, eating the red gems at every meal—and I can’t blame them, especially after our family strawberry-picking outing.
We went to Baggenstos Farm on a gorgeous day. After greeting the goats and playing on the tractor, we took our boxes to the strawberry fields. We planted ourselves among the rows of berries and set to picking.
Soon, though, Eric and I realized that we wouldn’t be the efficient pickers we imagined, and I bid adieu to my plans for strawberry tarts, jam and fruit salad. We didn’t have time to search out the perfectly ripe berries because we were too busy watching our little bug who had gone crazy for strawberries!
