Pieceful Life

Cherry Picking

We made a quick run to do some cherry picking this weekend. Hubs had been on a camping trip when the season opened, so we weren’t sure if we’d be able to get any cherries this year. The orchard is in Door County, so we left here around 7:30 am. We arrived at the orchard around 1:30 and the orchard closed at 5, so we didn’t waste any time but got right to it. Since BigJ is over 6 feet, he has the advantage of being able to get some of those cherries up high where others can’t reach them. So we cover a tree pretty well – I go low, he goes high, and the buckets fill pretty quickly.

I thought that photo would be a little better than it is! It was sunny and hot, and difficult to see the photo on my phone. Anyway, it’s evidence that we got busy picking. You can see the bucket he has hanging from his waist. They give you a rope with a caribiner attached. You tie that around your waist, shoulder, or neck (whichever works best for you), then hang the bucket from the caribiner. It’s pretty slick and leaves both hands free to pick. In a little over an hour, we were done!

One of our more brilliant (thanks to me) additions to our cherry picking has been this collapsible wagon. Last year was our first year using it, and so many others picking wondered why they hadn’t thought of it. It’s a whole lot easier than lugging six buckets by hand! Once the cherries are in the buckets, then we take them to the washing station, rinse all the stems and leaves, and then move them to the pitter. They go through the pitter and back into buckets, and then we are ready to head home. For the travel, we put them in coolers.

Once home, hubs cooks them down into sauce the same day, if there’s time. He has a specific recipe he uses (his own), so I just get out of the way and then help with clean up. Once cooked, they are ladled into small containers and frozen. They will last us the year. We like them with our granola or oatmeal – or over ice cream.

Since it’s Thursday, I should jump in with the I Like Thursday group over at Not Afraid of Color. This week LeeAnna is asking if we’ve ever been to an outdoor play. Years ago, while visiting friends in Oklahoma, they took me to an outdoor play of the musical, Oklahoma! It is still one of my favorite memories. How can you not remember seeing that play with an actual surrey with the fringe on top? And live horses, and guns (which completely took me by surprise, much to the amusement of my friends)! It was a delightful evening of music and theatre.

And that’s it for me today – cherry picking and outdoor theatre. How about you? Have you seen an outdoor play?

Thanks for stopping by!

Wendy

16 Comments

  • marissthequilter

    Yum! Those cherries look delicious.
    There is an outdoor Shakespeare theatre called Maynardville in Cape Town. Years ago we watched A Midsummer’s Night Dream there. It was memorable

  • Helen

    I see you when cherry picking without me again this year… sigh… ha ha
    Oh, well, if not cherries, I did enjoy my mornings picking blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries this June.

  • texasquiltgal

    I’m always astounded by the beautiful bright red of those cherries! I have 2 cans of tart cherries (they aren’t cheap) ready to make a cherry pie once I lose a little more weight, and I promise you they don’t look like that in the can. Does BigJ share his cherry sauce recipe, or is that a state secret? The wagon really is brilliant. You should buy up a few and sell them at the cherry orchard – LOL! Oklahoma would be best in an outdoor setting. I saw the movie before I was a teen, and I still remember the words to every song. 😉

  • Laura Kate

    My town recently built an outdoor stage. Last year the local reparatory company did a production of Midsummer Night’s Dream. It was surprisingly good, and sitting on the lawn as evening fell was most pleasant. My hubs likes to process cherries too. We must purchase them at the grocery. He owns a cherry pitter which is very efficient and fun to use. The preserves go over yoghurt and ice cream, and also get worked into sauces for pork and chicken.

  • Karen

    that is a lot of cherries and I’m so pleased to see your husband does a lot of it. My husband doesn’t seem to know what a kitchen is. It is also nice to hear the orchard has a pitter than is such an extra you must love that.

  • Bernie

    Oh my gosh – that cherry picking place is totally set up! I thought you had to go home and pit all of those – Phew!!! No wonder Big J had them all cooked down in one day. So great.
    Outdoor plays – once I went to a Shakespeare in the park sort of thing. However I really dislike Shakespeare so it was hard to not fall asleep. No thank you!

  • rmgsummers413a14ca5a

    I thought I’d missed the cherry picking this year. I was thinking about it earlier this week and decided it had probably happened without me! Ha, ha. That wagon is the best idea. Nice to know that you can clean the cherries there and pit them. What a job to do all that by hand. We’ve been to Shakespeare at Lake Tahoe once. Tickets are expensive and hard to get. It was nice to do once. Would be nice if there was something besides Shakespeare.

  • tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

    The timing on this post is so perfect as I am currently reading Tom Lake by Ann Patchet which is set on a stone fruit (cherries, etc) farm in Michigan and the author describes in detail the cherry picking season that the family on the farm engages in. I’ve learned so much and I can see it all in mind as I read (the book is so excellent, I am listening to the audiobook and Meryl Streep is the book narrator!). I wish I lived somewhere that we could go pick cherries.

  • Vicki in MN

    I am glad you were able to still snag some cherries this year! It reminded me of our Door County vacation last year.

  • aquilterstable

    Love that you got the cherries you were after! And yes, I’ve seen an outdoor play. The most memorable was The Sound of Music in the hills outside of Leavenworth WA. Very cool!

  • Kathleen McCormick

    How fabulous! The cherry picking event for the year is done and the cherries already to use. I love that your husband is so engaged in the process and in charge of it. I do look forward to seeing the harvest each year, and now must get some fresh cherries!

  • Tracie

    The collapsible wagon was ingenious! I’m impressed with your speedy picking.

    The Spring Grove theatre company puts on an outdoor play every year. The stage is an old barn and the audience sits in folding chairs on the hillside. This year’s play was 9 to 5. I think it’s always a musical.

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