(PS. the Duris Strawberry farm in Kent just opened for U-Pick for the 2022 season June 15.)
I was not supposed to go strawberry picking. I am picking out cabinets for our cabin and with all the end of school things I didn’t realize kindergarteners do, it was not high on my priority list. But, it seems like everywhere in Seattle people are talking about strawberries so I definitely have them on my mind. I think we do have the best strawberries in the northwest. They are beautifully red and soft and sweet and not-crunchy like the big ones you usually find in the grocery store and I love them on pavlova, or shortcakes or just plain vanilla ice cream. I thought I might stop in at Pike Place Market on my way home from running errands to pick them up and serve them as a treat for the kids when they got home from school.
BUT somewhere on my route, I saw a sign for u-pick and freshly picked strawberries and I thought I’d pick up a pint of already picked ones. As luck would have it, they had run out of picked berries, so I was FORCED to pick some berries instead of rushing off to do all the other things I was supposed to do. (I had no kids with me, so it didn’t take long. It was super inexpensive for my pint and I forgot how peaceful and enjoyable berry picking without kids can be.) And fields of strawberries on a sunny day are such a beautiful thing. Don’t we all just need to slow down and take in a little beauty sometimes? (And I still got everything I needed to do done. That’s usually how it goes.)
Apparently there may be 3 or so more weeks left of strawberry picking at this farm. I have more cabinet shopping to do, so I guess I’ll have to come out this way again……
(PS. I had no idea where I was but I looked it up and this farm is related to the Duris Cucumber Farm in Puyallup which I now totally want to visit and there is information on the Duris Farm facebook page on where to find the strawberry field in Kent as well as the hours of operation.)
(PPS. when I went they had rhubarb for sale as well as homemade shortcake pastries and jam jars and other things and I was thankful they took credit cards too!)
(PPPS there are a bunch of fresh flower farms in this area too-I saw some as I rounded the corner from the farm towards Auburn. I’m not sure if this is a link to one of them but I’m going to plug it into my GPS the next time I head that way and check it out. I’d love to hear if you’ve been.)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)