berry picking during the summer months..

I have really enjoyed this Summer Bucket Series I have been a part of this week.  I am very thankful to Honey for inviting me to be a part of it and have enjoyed getting ideas and being inspired by the other bloggers that joined in on the fun.  If you missed my first 4 posts, you can check them out here: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 and Day 4.


One of our favorite things to do as a family every year is to go berry picking.  We love to go to a local farm to get our strawberries.  They have a strawberry festival every year.  My husband has helped them before with their music part of the festival.  We have missed going this year to pick strawberries, and I am hoping once we move that we will be able to find another farm out in Colorado.

Another place we love going to pick berries, is the Blue Ridge Parkway.  They have blueberry bushes along the side of the roads in an area close to us.  Every year, towards the end of July – beginning of August we pack up a lunch and head to the mountains.  We have our favorite spots that is very safe to pull off the road and to pick the fresh wild blueberries.  You do have to be careful, because you aren’t the only ones who are picking berries.  We have been told that some people have come across bears and other wild animals eating berries while they were picking as well.  I am thankful that we have never shared an area with a bear picking while picking blueberries!

Blackberries is another berry that our family loves to eat.  There seems nothing better than a freshly baked blackberry cobbler with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.  We have a lot of blackberry bushes along the side of our road that we live on.  The kids and I have taken buckets and just walked down the road and have come home with enough berries for several cobblers.

We are blessed to have a lot of local farms in our areas that do allow you to come and pick your own berries.  While I do love going to a local farm, I still think it is great to be able to step out your back door and to pick berries from the mountains.

As we are packing up to move across the country, these are memories that I am thankful I have of this area.  My children and I have grown and learned so much about living in the mountains and respecting the mountains and the wild animals that live here.  We are also looking forward to the new adventures that await us when we move out to the Rockies in Colorado.

Do you have local farms that you are able to go and pick fresh berries, fruits and vegetables?  I would love to hear about your adventures that you have had!

Be sure to stop by the others who are participating in the Summer Bucket List series to see what fun they have been up to!

Honey @ Sunflower Schoolhouse

Tonya @ The Traveling Praters

Jeniffer & Melissa @ Sisters ‘N Cloth

Lisa @ Creativlei

Nancy @ Proverbs 31 Jewels

Jennifer @ Teaching Boys

Kelli @ Adventurez In Child’rearing