STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER

There is a farm across the Mississippi in Illinois whose business is pick it yourself. Eckert’s rotates through strawberries, peaches, apples and pumpkins in season. It’s strawberry time and we took granddaughter Ellie and a friend yesterday. Fill up a basket and pay for it by weight. I later found that they charge more than the supermarket but it was fun for the kids and amusing to see all the families engaging in field labor.                       

Howdy!

The family trip to Eckert's Farm last weekend followed a St. Louis tradition. They have three locations in the Illinois suburbs that are not exactly conventional farms. In season, people can pick their own strawberries, blackberries, peaches, vegetables, apples and pumpkins. You have to pay for it on your way out and the prices are no bargain.

The place was packed because it was half-off pumpkin day. You had to ride on the back of a flat bed truck to get to the pumpkin field. We estimated that the wait was close to an hour so we blew it off. Instead, we took Madeleine to the petting zoo where she had her first encounter with a llama. She looks unimpressed.                 

We haven't had Madeleine for a while. We haven't had pumpkins in forever.

Madeleine's other grandparents are up here from Houston for her baptism today. We all went out to Eckert's Farm yesterday, where they have pick-yourself apples and pumpkins at this time of year. Madeleine, happy child that she is, enjoyed just crawling around the hundred-pounders out front.