You are warmly invited to the soft opening of Balderson Blueberries u- pick.

August 3, 4, 9am-7pm.

Drop in and pick up some field fresh blueberries, check out my little Merry Blueberry store and dessert cafe, and the small cut-your-own flower garden.

My season this year is only for family, friends, neighbors, and faithful blog readers, and will last as long as I have blueberries. Unlike strawberries, blueberries do not keep regenerating fruit throughout the season; the number of berries are determined by buds formed the previous fall. Once the berries are picked out, my season will be over. But the blooms on my earliest ripeningy ‘patriot’ variety indicate a good crop.

I’m still working on building the infrastructure for the overhead bird netting. It is proving to be every bit as grueling as expected. I’m sure someone with the right expertise and equipment could do a far better (and faster) job of it but I’m too far into the gargantuan project to change lanes now. I suppose that as long as it eventually gets finished (and works!) without completely unhinging my sanity, I’ll be glad I did it.

In any case, bird netting finished or not, I would love it if you came and shared my soft opening with me. Get a complimentary family portrait taken and enjoy a complimentary glass of my blueberry wine. Directions are on my website at baldersonblueberries.com. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me. Excited to see you soon!

My fields, while a few weeks behind on account of the late sunshine and warmth, are awash in blueberry blossoms. At this time of year, seeing bees foraging on my plants is deeply soothing. Not only does every berry need to be pollinated, but every seed in every berry needs pollination, and bumblebees are the best bee for the job of fertilizing the bell-shaped blossoms. I order a hive every year.

Imagine my alarm when, after several days with my new colony, all I saw was the odd wild bee. My hive was a dud. I called the company and found out that the self-contained box of bees must have gotten damaged in transit.

“The queen will lay new eggs and the hive will be operational again in a couple of weeks,” I was informed

“I have bloom now,” I said urgently.

“Hmmm, yes,” he responded. “We can send you a new hive on Monday when we ship. It will arrive next Wednesday, or we can credit your account.”

“I don’t want a credit, I want bees and I need them now. Wednesday is too late,” I replied back, the distress evident in my voice. It had taken days to get the right person to call me back and timing is everything. If a fruit set doesn’t get pollinated during bloom, it will bear no fruit. Hence my distress.

“Hmmm, yes. Ok. Let me get back to you”. He knew what was at stake.

My head was swimming. The thought of a consecutive crop loss was inconceivable.

A couple of hours later I received word that a new hive was being shipped immediately and I would receive it the next day. Kudos to the bee guy.

When I saw the Purolator truck roll up my driveway, I was weak with relief. Turns out I wasn’t the only one relieved. As I unloaded my precious hive, the driver, looking pale and shaken, said, “I’m damn glad to get that cargo off my truck.” He shuddered. I just smiled and cradled the buzzing box before rushing it out to the field to set it up.

My fields are now alive with the beautiful buzzing of busy bees. Happy days are here again.