Blueberry Picking at Noho Farm

One sunny Sunday while Dad and Lucinda were here, we decided to go for a drive through the countryside, so they could see some famous NZ sheep, as well as cows, as Lucinda has cows on her farm in Kansas. We decided to plan for dinner in Bulls, which I will post about later, and to stop at anything interesting we saw along the way.

My favourite place where we stopped was Noho Farms, where we picked our own blueberries. I've never done this before, and it was wonderful!

It's hard to see in the picture, but they had thin, white netting over the whole area to keep the birds out. I was hoping it would also provide at least a little bit of shade, as it was an extremely hot day for NZ, but no luck. Fortunately, it also didn't impede the breeze, which was helpful.

We each got a bucket, tied it around our waists, and got to work. It was very peaceful, as there weren't many other people around.

After picking for a while, I discovered that I was standing too far away from the bushes, and therefore not benefitting from their shade. I love the sun and am seldom too warm, but it was very hot with the sun beating down.

So I started basically climbing into the bushes and picking from there, where it was much cooler. There was also the added benefit that I was then surrounded on all sides by beautiful bunches of blueberries, which was incredible. I found the whole experience very soothing - I think it was the combination of having something simple and non-demanding to do with my hands, as well as something beautiful to look at. And being outside is delightful, of course.

With such bountiful bushes, it didn't take us long to have more blueberries than we would be able to eat, so we headed back to pay for them and then relax in a shady picnic area and enjoy our harvest. They were so delicious, especially when they were still warm from the sun.

We each had a big bag to take home. Dad was confident he could eat his whole bag that day, but later admitted that his eyes were a bit bigger than his stomach, although he did make a substantial dent (as did we all). Fortunately, we discovered that they are perfect for freezing - they thaw quickly when you're ready to eat them and are only very slightly less delicious than fresh. Dad and Lucinda continued to enjoy them while the were here, and J and I are still making our way through the rest, and loving having them for a treat.

If you'd like to read more about Noho Farm, click here for their website.