Piddlin' along...

Looking out my kitchen window, I can see the machines plodding through the field. It's been a slow start for us this year. Remember how I said that we needed to be sure there was enough fruit to make it worthwhile to pick? Well, we have broken that rule...

There's something different every year.

We've set a new record low for daily production this year...Woot! Woot!...or NOT! Not the kind of record you want to set, and it's really not cost-effective in dollars and cents, except that it is an investment in improving the quality of the fruit...we hope!

The poor weather that created a protracted and slow bloom time, and then dumped a lot of rain on us, continues to create challenges. There's not lots of ripe fruit out there yet, but we need to get it off in a timely fashion to minimize the opportunity for mold to grow. (Thank you rainy weather for inviting mold to come so early in the season.)..So we keep piddling along with picking...

It's a long slow start, but it keeps picking up...every day a bit more fruit...and lots of green berries waiting to come. We've contemplated taking a day off to let the field gain some ripening time, but then we wake to this, and we are glad we kept going...

Oh that lovely marine air, bathing the rows in moisture...

Gulp! This just doesn't help.

Thankfully, the sun is coming out to minimize the effect, and overall, the weather is good. As it continues, we are working our way up -- in production and quality...

It's just going kind of slowly.