Oh, we are so glad to get beyond the winter protections (snow fencing and rolling up the bird netting), the pruning (which started early this year with a long cold winter), the spring weeding and worry about late frosts, the hope that hail won’t find us with all these thunder storms, the relief that finally we got the bird net up and the holes patched, the irrigating and fertigating and chipping and matting, and figuring out how to redirect a little ground hog back across the street, the mowing and mowing and, wait don’t get in the way of that little Killdeer and her nest!!! … Anyway that’s enough worry, because the killdeer have hatched and the blueberries are beautiful and ripening and we are opening on Friday, July 11 at 7:30 am for pickers. It’s supposed to be a beautiful day – and this is the fun part for us.
Thank you to all the pickers in the past who are so appreciative of the summer berries. It makes a year’s worth of blood, sweat and tears worth the trouble.
Here is a photo taken today (Thursday, July 10) of a cluster of Reka berries, showing all stages of ripening. Come and enjoy the harvest.
And for those who love lavender, all eight varieties of lavender that we planted last year have done very well for a difficult winter and are ready for those who would like to pick their own lavender. We can show you how to do it so that you help the plant thrive and also harvest the best stems for whatever use you plan for the lavender. Some people use the flowers in tea, some use the buds for fragrant sachets, some dry the stems for flower arrangements, some may use the buds for making soap or other crafts. 
As long as we’re talking about new things, we also are amazed at the Shiitake harvest. Here are some growing on logs in the woods. If you are interested in these mushrooms, we do need a few days notice. They seem to be quite content growing under the moist but airy hemlock trees.
