Strawberries

On Tuesday I went with a group of people to a strawberry field in Ontario, CA. We were invited to help glean the field before it was plowed. There were so many strawberries it was overwhelming. In three hours "we" (meaning mostly me and a few of my boys on and off when they were not complaining, smearing lotion all over the seats in the car, or somehow locking our car in 4 wheel drive) picked 7 huge boxes. And when I say boxes I am talking Costco diaper size boxes. I had well over 100 pounds.

 After the harvest period and cleaning out my lotion covered car (there is still an outline of Garrett's face pressed on my passenger side window) we went to the closest splash park to cool off. 

Daniel wouldn't get out of the water long enough to get a picture!

After giving away large quantities of strawberries to 6 different friends and throwing out many that were smashed (because I should have used small shallow boxes & I had jury duty all day Wednesday) I now have 14 quarts of low sugar strawberry jam and 3 gallon size bags of dried fruit leather (plus the two gallon bags of apricot fruit leather and 6 quarts of apricot jam I made two weeks ago). Since I traded a lady for a huge box of Mason jars I think all of this cost me under $12 (plus the gas to get to Ontario and the man I am going to have to pay to clean up the strawberry my son smashed into the living room carpet)! Next week I help harvest my friend's plums.

I never want to see another strawberry again in my entire life...or at least not until we do this same thing again next year!