Raspberry Picking

Posted on by Allison Hite
Something that I have always wanted to do: Berry picking.
When I was little, my mom used to read me this book:

I loved it, but I also remember SHE loved it. She laughed and laughed at the adorable little adventure of this little tike on the blueberry hill. This part is engrained into my memory:
Kuplink, kuplank, kuplunk:

She ate all the berries he picked, then she started to eat them out of her mother’s bucket. Her mother shued her away, then Sal got into some trouble with bears…it is a great book, but you don’t have to take my word for it 😉 (Reading Rainbow reference for all you children of the 80’s.)

At the end of the book, on the back two pages, there was this picture:

My mom would tell us about this magical old timey thing that ladies used to do called at canning. She would tell me about memories she had of when she was little, canning with her grandmother. That memory stuck with me, and the last couple of year when we have canned, I have always thought of this picture and that memory, and somehow thought that I was honoring my mom and grandma’s when we canned.
BUT, not until today, was I finally able to live out my secret (only because I never thought to tell anyone) life ambition to go out and pick berries like Sal.
We headed out to the beautiful Mapleton UT. I went into my old work this week to show off little Mirah to my friends, and my friend Susanne told us about it. It wasn’t blueberry mountain. 
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It was a little place aside these sweet people’s home. They were seriously the sweetest people.
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They had buckets for everyone!
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Little Sal!

My friend Emily headed out with us too!!
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They have ropes that you use to tie buckets to your waste, so that your hands will be free to pick!

There were not bears, but the farm next door did have reindeer. And bees. Lots of bees.
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It was kind of Zen out there. Quiet, and beautiful.
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It was hard for Karl for a few reasons:
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His view:
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Mirah’s head.
But mostly, he didn’t want to…
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I LOVED IT! I mean look at my view!
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It was a good thing that my hands were free. You have to lift the leaves and you would find tons of berries buried under there!
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You pull them gently off the and they leave these little white pits on the branch that I have never seen before.
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My bucket after ten minutes.
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There is a blackberry in there.
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Karl likes Blackberries better than rasberries. But the blackberries didn’t really turn out this year. Interesting note about blackberries verses rasberries: You prune black berry bushes, you cut rasberry bushes back when the season is over.
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I was so happy!
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My bucket was getting really full!
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We got TONS of berries, $4!!! Amazing!
It was a super cheap little excursion, but really nice and fun.
On our way out there is a sign that says, picks some flowers as you go!
With these little scissors to use to cut some flowers.
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Karl wanted to cut me a bouquet.
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Emily got a beautiful bouquet.
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Karl’s for me:
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He used a grocery bag to tie them together and give it a bow.
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Mirah was totally ZONKED. It was a big day of berry picking.
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Ahh, all of my dreams coming true.

2 thoughts on “Raspberry Picking”

  1. Allie I am so glad that you remember that book so fondly. Me too. I'm also glad that you got to go berry picking with your own little Sal. What a sweet memory you have made. I'm sure that when Mirah gets bigger you will make more trips berry picking. Love you sweet girl!

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