Fruit picking and parties

The desire for strawberries got the better of us - we had not been able to find any decent ones in the supermarket so we decided to go to a local “pick your own” this afternoon. It was a perfect afternoon for this; it was still quite hot but not the burning heat with the intense sunshine of the previous days. The fruit farm is about 20 minutes drive from us and it a beautiful setting in the middle of the countryside, warm and welcoming hosts and the strawberries are all grown in long containers off the ground which makes it great for picking. They were at just the right height for Ruby to be able to meander down each of the isles looking for the best strawberries to pick. Rivan was quite happy to play with the empty boxes and be fed strawberries by his own personal picker (Ruby) who would run off to find a nice one for him then sit down beside him, tell him to be patient and then bite them into smaller pieces for her little brother.  We all had our fill of fresh strawberries and none of us had to weighed before we started picking!  We also found some wonderful raspberries – the best ones hidden in the undergrowth and some were just out of reach for us short arses.  The fruit farm had a beautiful orchard with many different types of apples – many of the trees had been cordoned to make picking easier.  Today was just a strawberry and raspberry day and we returned home via some friends for a refreshing cuppa tea, the car smelling sweet and inviting with all the ripe fruit on the passengers seat and in our bellies.

The evening saw an outing for us without the kids, our friend was having a 40^th birthday party and our neighbour very kindly said she would baby-sit.  The evening was perfect, not too hot or cold and the mix of characters at the party could not have been better, some people we knew and enjoyed catching up with and also a few new faces for us to meet.  It was lovely going out without the kids, as much as I love (and I truly love) spending time with Ruby and Rivan it is good to get out just Ben and me and be ourselves without having to watch out for the kids.  A very talented pianist entertained us with her renditions of numerous Beatles tracks and everyone bought something along to eat, there was a plethora of quiches, tarts, breads and salad and an amazing selection of hand crafted patisseries and cakes.  A late night was had but it was so worth it!

Comments

[minutepapillon]

Where is that place???? miam miam! though lynn and max would plunder and wolf down all the crop! they do look delicious!