Tanaka Farms

First annual Strawberry Picking at Tanaka Farms trip.  What was funny was seeing Kaeley's excitement about this trip versus the first time we went. The first time was maybe two years ago. My mom went with us. We went mostly because after reading "Blueberries for Sal" Kaeley was determined to pick berries before she died. She was ecstatic to be go picking. This time, while she happy to go, she was just happily quiet compared to bouncing off the wall with joy. I just thought that was interesting. She still enjoyed herself. We joined three other families from our homeschooling academy. 

The wagon ride takes you through the fields a bit and the tour guide explains organic farming, the history of this family owned farm, and what fruits and vegetables are growing at the time. You also stop several times along the route to taste the freshly picked produce. This trip we tasted fresh sweet onions, which were eaten whole by Kaeley, delicious carrots, and some life-changing raw sweet corn. I learned that corn, when first picked, is still a sugar. We ate this corn raw for crying out loud and everyone on the wagon would have eaten a bushel full if given the chance. It was so good! Several days after being picked the sugars change to starches, so it loses its sweetness. Interesting. I also learned not to buy baby carrots, because you lose all those great nutrients sitting under the skin of the carrot. Bye bye, convenience!

So here we are picking strawberries. It was an expensive field trip, but picking organic strawberries straight from the vine after they've been warmed in the sun is almost priceless. I say almost. Oh, they were good. The kids enjoyed filling up their plastic baskets, but they were so excited to just pick and eat that they filled the boxes maybe 3/4 of the way full. Me, trying to get as much bang for the buck that I could, relieved them of their boxes and stuffed those boxes as full as I could get them!

Simon, my pickier little eater, didn't want to leave the fields due to the delicious strawberries that were at his disposal. 

Red gold right in her hand.

Alynna eating her sweet corn.