Sweet Strawberries
Wow, 2015 is half gone. I am featuring strawberries on my blog right now. My husband planted a few everbearing strawberry plants 2 or 3 years ago. They send out streamers that make more plants so we have plenty of fresh strawberries all summer. Just enough for the two of us.
Picking strawberries in WA used to be a way of making spending money when I was a kid. I started walking to a neighbors berry field when I was 7 to pick berries. I didn't think of it as hard labor. The best part of the whole day was the free ice cold bottle of Pepsi Cola that they brought to the field in a big tub full of ice. We didn't get treats like that at home so I looked forward to that most of all. I probably only made 25¢ a day but back then you could buy a lot of stuff at the "dime stores" for that. I think it is good for a kid to learn how to work and get satisfaction out of it and I don't think most kids get to anymore. Kids aren't allowed to work in the fields now. That is a shame because a lot of young people don't have any kind of work ethic. Our two sons are both laborers and they have a terrible time trying to get people that are willing to work hard, even for good wages!
We moved to IA when I was 10 years old and of course I worked on our farm. But when I was 16 I started detasseling corn in the summer to make extra money. (Detasseling corn is removing the pollen producing flowers, the tassel, from the tops of corn plant. It is a form of pollination control employed to cross-breed two varieties of corn.) Now that was hot hard work but I didn't mind and made new friends every summer. The money I made I got to spend on whatever I wanted. I know the first year I bought a typewriter and a ladies watch. I was very proud of both. The typewriter was not a smart purchase, though. I didn't know how to type as I hadn't taken typing in school yet so it really screwed up my typing. I am a fast typer but my accuracy is in the toilet!
Our kids picked strawberries every summer, too. You were supposed to be 12 to pick, but you could pick younger if you had an older sibling with you, so all 3 of our kids worked in the berry fields. The money they made was theirs and they go to use it as they wanted. Our boys saved theirs for cars and our daughter spent most of her on clothes.
My husband went on a hunting trip with his brother for a few days so Sunday our daughter and I had a day to ourselves! She treated me to a fancy frappe I can't reven remember what it was called but it had about a thousand calories in it! Did some fun shopping and then came here and sat on the deck in the sunshine with some wine and chips. I feel blessed to have a daughter. I really didn't think we would ever have a girl since boys were so prominent in my husband's family. But I got one daughter, one grandaughter and one great grandaughter! So I lucked out!
Back to work. Have a super first week of June!
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