Let's go

Weekend of the 4th is over and back to business. Strawberries are winding down, this will be the last week we pick. Tom will mow them off in another week. It always looks so awful with the plants mowed but they soon come back with new growth for next year. Berries were so good this year, thanks to Mother Nature's cooperation and lots of hard work. The new patch of trial strawberries is coming along well. We're already anxious to see what they bring next summer.

Mike, Lisa, Kyle and Cody spent the holiday with us; the boys stayed and Lisa will be back to get them this week. She has to get her "berry picking fix!" Yesterday morning she picked 6 quarts of red raspberries to take back to Kansas. As usual, Lisa made jam - she loves to give it to her friends and the teachers as gifts.

The boys and I are planning to get dozens of little chores done that have been ignored the past 3 weeks. We saw "Ice Age 3" last night and enjoyed it immensely. Even they are fascinated by the fact all 4 of us can go to River Falls for a movie, popcorn and a soda for about $15. They love it!

Jane and the girls will be back on Thursday so we'll have a busy house for a few days. Such fun! Hopefully Mikes' family can join us somewhere in there. Kids, bikes, picnics and just being outside - isn't that what summer is all about! (and don't forget the berries!)

For those of you who don't know, that last picture is son-in-law, Mike Moose at the Kansas City Barbeque Contest with Guy Fieri from Food Network. Not sure how he does it but Mike meets some really neat people!

OOOOPS! Grandma's shortcakes need a fourth cup of sugar!

Grandma's Shortcakes
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick butter
Mix dry ingredients until crumbly (can use fingers or food processor)
Gently stir in 3/4 cup milk or light cream, stirring until just blended.
Lightly roll out to 1/2 thick, cut circles and place half on oiled baking sheet.
Spread small amount of soft butter on each circle on baking sheet and top with the rest of th e circles. Bake about 10 minutes at 450 or until golden brown.

My grandmother made these shortcakes - they absolutely melt in your mouth. The two layers of cake with the butter in between make them easy to separate and beautiful to look at. Margarine can be used but the results are not the same. She always sliced the berries and sprinkled on very little sugar, just enough to make juice. Next to her chicken and biscuits, this was a favorite with my brothers and me. More on here chicken and biscuits later.

Jane and the girls were here over the weeked. Those little smiling faces were constantly smeared with strawberry juice. Not sure which of them could eat the most! Between running from the patch to the house and riding bicycles back and forth, they were exhausted at bedtime. Meg ate two huge bowls of strawberry shortcake! Jane made 4 batches of freezer jam - one large container is gone already!

Berries, berries and more berries! Yesterday was day 8 of picking and the strawberries haven't even begun to slow down! We started the day with an inch of rain in about an hour - then came the sun and the heat. Surprisingly, it quickly dried off and the berries were wonderful. It's to be another hot day today and lots of "U-Pic" folks have called to say they will be here. Tom needs to invent a strawberry picker that can go down a row, single out the ripest berries and put them in a basket. That's the only way all the berries will ever get picked.
Raspberries are coming in about 2 weeks. The briars are loaded with green berries. We are guessing that they will be huge since the weather has been perfect for them. They are the only berry on the place that turkeys don't bother!
The blueberries are growing daily. The bushes suffered some from the winter but there will still be lots of them if the turkeys stay away. We are going to try some mylar ribbons to see if that will scare them away - not counting on it!
The rest of the garden simply jumped this past week. I think everything out there doubled or tripled in size. We laugh when we say it but we think we can hear the corn grow and are sure if you stood there and watched, you could see it grow!
Jane and the girls are coming today. It's rodeo weekend and a pancake breakfast for June Dairy Days in the morning. It will be busy but lots of fun. The drive way has several puddles; Alex is now riding her bike without training wheels so........ And it won't be just Alex! Katie is going to have a lemonade stand. Megan will probably be in the barn with the cats or on Grampa's heels. Jane is certainly a busy mom!
Well, it's out to the berry patch. Hope to see you there!