Let's Go Blueberry Picking!

As you may know, Monica loves to take the boys out on many adventures and field trips.  During the summer, one of our very favorite things is picking fresh fruit.  Not only is it delicious, but the boys will actually eat it if they have a part in picking it!  Mom win!

​Hazel Blue Acres is a family owned and operated farm  by Karen and Spencer Fuentes (and very family friendly!).  You might guess by the name, but they feature hazelnuts and three delicious varieties of certified organic blueberries.  Both Spencer and Karen grew up on dairy farms and Hazel Blue Acres is the farm on which Spencer was raised.  In 2008, these two adventurers planted their first blueberry plants and in 2010 had their first harvest.  

​Karen is an absolute delight and regularly greets our kids, sharing fun facts and letting them explore.  The boys still remember when she described the ladybug life cycle (including a fun coloring sheet!) and encouraged them to keep their eyes open to see the ladybugs on the blueberry plants. 

​Our favorites are the Draper variety.  They weren’t joking about large.  Some of these were as big as our eyes.  They taste delicious and easily last one to two weeks in our refrigerator (bring a cooler with you so they don’t get hot on the car ride home!). We also love Liberty and recently brought home 5 lbs.  Simply delicious!  

On our last visit, we were treated to a fabulous cooking demonstration featuring Northwest Summer Salad.  Karen did an excellent job entertaining her (large!) crowd, including several kids.  The older kids even got to help serve (after careful instructions by Karen to wash hands, of course!).  Timmy happily passed out forks and the salmon (hazelnut, blueberry, and peach!) salad was delicious. 

We can’t wait to be back for more blueberries!  We hope you find time to pick and enjoy, too!

Summer Hours:
Tuesday to Saturday 9 AM to 6 PM
Sunday 12 PM to 5 PM

1 http://www.gardenersnet.com/fruit/blueberryvarieties.htm

​Our very favorite blueberry farm is located just outside Silvana, Hazel Blue Acres. 

​We are always impressed with the beautifully manicured rows, even certified organic the plants are easy to access and not choked by weeds.  It makes for fast and comfortable picking!  And, we absolutely love how easy they make it to pick, rows are nicely marked, fabulous harnesses, and special sized buckets for the littles.  Just perfect!  

Ok... ​so you want to know about the berries!  Oh my, are they good.  The three varieties featured at Hazel Blue Acres are:

• Reka - Dark blue, medium to large sized fruit has excellent blueberry flavor. It is great for eating fresh. Reka is a prolific bloomer, producing a huge, early season crop.
• Draper - Early mid season variety. Produces large, firm, powder blue, berries with excellent flavor. Thicker skin gives the fruit a crisp texture, with resistance to splitting and a longer shelf life.
• Liberty - Very late ripening blueberry . Berries are large with a powder-blue color. Delicious fruit has a tasty flesh. Makes delicious jams, jellies and desserts.1

If you love ice cream, you may want to bring a few extra dollars along for an absolutely tasty treat.  Hazel Blue Acres has teamed up with Lopez Island Creamery to make delicious frozen ice cream and sorbet, featuring their blueberries and hazelnuts.  Our boys adore the blueberry ice cream.  Sammy tilted his back, closed his eyes, and proclaimed, “this is heaven” with his first bite.  He was RIGHT!