Yesterday the family and I headed to Sauvie Island (in Portland, OR) to visit The Pumpkin Patch farm and do some berry picking. Since moving to Oregon this is something we’ve enjoyed every year as a family. Luckily the temperature high this day was only 70 degrees too – perfect for picking!
The day we went for our visit, the farm had blueberries, raspberries and Marionberries ready for harvest! They also have a lovely market, cafe and gift shop.
Before we started picking berries we had to visit the animals in the barn to say a big hello! My husband loves alpacas and PooBear is just too cute. He was busy munching away on hay but still, so cute.
I was especially fond of Lavender- the prettiest, sweetest little bird. Her head and neck is the most beautiful shade of lavender/lilac.
Vegas was also so cute and friendly. The farm also had some sheep and bunnies too. After we visited the animals, we drove down to the fields to do some blueberry picking!
The day we went the Duke variety of berries was the ripest for picking. The bushes were overflowing with the juicy berries. Coraline enjoyed eating berries as Eric and I picked some to take home.
I typically don’t enjoy picking blueberries because it feels like it takes F-O-R-E-V-E-R to fill up one little bitty bucket, but this day it was easy to grab a handful of ripe berries each time!
Oh how all the different recipes are coming to mind: blueberry pie, cobbler, muffins, scones, you get the point…
Spartan blueberries were half way in the day we visited. Some blue, but the majority still green and growing.
Aurora blueberries were not ready yet at all. I like how the farm puts them in rows with the late bloomers farthest back.
Blue Gold blueberries were coming along – some were ready and ripe to be picked!
Liberty was another variety that had not matured yet and not ready for picking. We may try to return later this month for more picking.
The day we went picking, Coraline was quite sick with a nasty cold. She mustered through for a bit, but then she was so done and over it. She let everyone know that by a big, fat tantrum of kicking and screaming — but that’s life with a three year old! We didn’t get to pick the marionberries or raspberries as planned, but thankfully the farm has a fabulous market.
At the Pumpkin Patch Market we loaded up on marionberries, raspberries, green onions, limes, golden beets, varieties of lettuce, the fattest sugar snap peas ever and a rich, buttery local havarati cheese. It saved me a trip to the local market and the prices can’t be beat. A huge back of sugar snap peas was only a dollar! They went perfectly on my Chinese chicken salad last night.
Even though Coraline was a tyrant the day of berry picking, it was quite fun for the family. Marionberry cobbler recipe post coming soon!
