Strawberry Picking

We went strawberry picking a couple of Sundays ago at O’Shea’s Farm just north of the city. Since we moved over two years ago we’ve been going there each year.
This year was by far the best year, both in terms of the quality of strawberries and the kids’ abilities to focus! Although the crop wasn’t as full as it could have been, we were able to find lots of red ripe strawberries! Often they grew in clusters, so finding a good cluster was a time saver!
Gabriel, Miranna and Jennaya each wanted to have a basket of their own. For the first few minutes they simply ate everything they picked. After a while they finally decided to put some in their baskets. Gabriel chose a row that had very sparse leaves. But because of that he could spot big strawberries very easily! He picked for a good 15 min probably, and asked me to finish after that. The girls didn’t last as long, but they had a lot of fun eating strawberries, and running in the field. For the past two years they just sat in their strollers, so this was definitely a new experience! Isabelle found a comfortable spot in the straw and ate strawberries pretty much the whole time we were there. She definitely smelled fruity afterward!
The worker there was very friendly and offered to take us on her tractor. Wendy and the kids (minus Isabelle) got on and she actually took them to a different part of the farm to play (at Gabriel’s request). Isabelle and I followed in our van.
At the playground, there were swings, a huge sandpit, a tractor track with a barn, and a couple of tube slides. Of special mention are the tube slides, because they were new this year and looked solidly built. However, a few steps up the wooden stairs of the tall it became obviously that it wasn’t as rigid as it first appeared! In fact the entire structure would move back and forth as we climbed it. While the way up was a bit worrying, the way down was pure speed! With a little bump right before the bottom it made for a very fun ride! Gabriel learned quickly how to achieve maximum speed and loved shooting out at the bottom. The girls were fearless, too, as usual, and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
It was a beautiful morning for strawberry picking and playing.