It’s that time of the year where the berries are ripe, the garden is pumping out fresh produce, and those yummy peaches are available at the local produce stand. The weather has been all over the place with plenty of rain so far this year. I’ve only had to water the garden a few times.
Tara loves to go berry picking and it’s a trait that’s being passed on to Kelsey. Last week the temperatures were in the lower 70’s which provided the perfect opportunity to head to White Oak Farms in Renick, WV to pick some tasty blueberries. I like visiting the u-pick farms and contributing to the local economy. The blueberry bushes at White Oak Farms are over 20 years old and they were loaded with a good crop this year.
I concentrated on picking the biggest blueberries on each bush while Tara and Kelsey dove in to try and fill up their buckets as fast as they could. Needless to say, they picked twice as many berries as I did but all of mine were top quality. I found the best ones up high, down low, and some in the middle that took a little more effort to get to.
An hour later we returned to the vehicle with almost 9 pounds of freshly picked blueberries. I’m not sure how many more pounds were consumed in the berry patch. We’ve made this an annual family tradition and I look forward to it every year.
The adventure didn’t end after that as there are plenty of cool places to visit along the way. On this trip we stopped at Hills Creek Falls on the way back. There are 3 waterfalls on Hills Creek with the lower falls dropping 63 feet which is the tallest waterfall in West Virginia. It had been several years since I last hiked down to see the falls and I was excited to show Kelsey more of our natural beauty. I really enjoy revisiting places with Kelsey as I remember how it was as a kid. The world seemed so big back then and places that were only an hour away felt like it took forever to get to. I talked the falls up and they didn’t disappoint as Kelsey was asking if we could do this everyday as we walked along.
I’ve drove by Hills Creek Falls several times over the years and had the “been there, done that” attitude. That attitude has changed since Kelsey came along and now it’s more like “been there, let’s go do it again” which has been awesome. There’s nothing better than passing on the excitement and wonder of our natural world.
There’s just something about the sound of water that sooths my soul. Hills Creek is a beautiful mountain stream that has some nice-looking holes that I was eyeballing the whole time. I’ve fished below the falls one-time years ago and wish I would’ve brought the fly rod along. I usually have the fly rod in the vehicle as you never know when you might be passing by a stream or river. I guess I had my mind on those blueberries and forgot to pack it this time.
We had a great day and made memories we’ll never forget. There’s so much to see and do around here and why I love calling the mountain state home. I’ll never live anywhere else! Get out and enjoy our natural beauty before summer is over and school begins as there’s plenty to see and explore in this place we call home.
