It’s strawberry season in Middle Tennessee! We went picking this week and were overjoyed to find dozens of rows of beautifully large berries. We missed last year but ended up purchasing a flat from an Amish farm, so this was Little Buddy’s first experience. It was quite entertaining for us, and he absolutely loved it. He went through several “phases” during the two hours that we spent at the farm.
Phase 1: Calmly playing with the plants while Mommy and Daddy pick strawberries.
Phase 2: Realizes he can pull strawberries off the plants. Enjoys throwing them on the ground.
Phase 3. Discovers how fun it is to squish the strawberries between his fingers. Squishing the berries takes all his might and causes his little body to shake from the energy exertion. Has a big smile on his face.
Phase 4: Discovers that strawberries are edible, and boy is he happy!
Phase 5: Begins trying to eat all the strawberries in sight, including the rotten ones on the ground and the green ones. Don’t worry, Little Buddy did not successfully consume any rotten strawberries.
Phase 6: Does not understand the concept of removing the stem before shoving the whole thing into his mouth. Mommy repeatedly pulls strawberries out of his mouth to break them into smaller pieces and remove the stems. Still consuming green berries and seeming to enjoy them, although he is beginning to slow slight preference to the red berries.
Phase 7: This is when the sugar high kicks in. Looks around and realizes that there are endless acres of sugary berries. Starts consuming at a very rapid rate.
Phase 8: Extraction from the berry field by Daddy. The two of them play in a nearby field while Mommy finishes picking.
In total, Little Buddy only consumed 10-15 small berries and had an absolute blast. We paid the farmer for the green berries that he pulled off the plants, so no need to worry about that. We picked 30 pounds, so it was certainly a successful trip. Time to make jelly!