Hi and Bye

A friend of mine posted in Facebook Friday afternoon that she and her teenage boys had a wonderful morning picking strawberries at a farm in Waldorf. They never saw more than five other families in the field at once, and they came home with a flat of juicy, bright berries. Strawberry jam would be forthcoming.

So, what did we do this morning? I packed a lunch for us, Chris filled a couple camelbacks and researched where we could hike after strawberry picking, and away we went. Yes, it was a holiday weekend, and yes, people were itching to get out, but the sky was gray and the air was cool.

I started to sense we were in trouble when we took the final turn of the drive with seven cars ahead of us and eight following us. Well, maybe most of these cars would be turning off before the farm. As we passed the “no outlet sign” without losing a single car, and the field came into view, I knew it would be a quick visit. The lot was filling up quickly, and little groups dotted the field. We stopped the car in front of the shop, and I donned my mask and headed toward the nearly empty space.

“Will you be picking today?” asked the friendly masked lady as I approached the doorway.

“No, thank you.” Well, I did do some picking: I picked out two quarts of strawberries and a jar of honey. I jumped back in the car, and we headed upstream against the wave of cars entering the property. See ya on a grayer, rainier weekday (or not).

Fortunately, Cedarville State Forest did not emit the same siren’s call as strawberry picking, and we had a lovely, nearly solitary hike through the woods. Most importantly, Edwin will still get to make his strawberry sorbet.