Florida isn't just about beautiful beaches. This month in central Florida you can go out and pick fresh blueberries. There is a place on the south side of Lakeland near Bartow called James Farm that has the best blueberries ever!
I emailed the location of the farms to my previous buyers and sellers with kids to let them know of a low-cost fun daytime activity that actually saves grocery money. For $12 dollars the family (and the family dog) can forrage for an hour or two between the rows of blueberry plants sampling 4-5 different kinds of as you go. (I had no clue there were that many types of blueberries) Of course I had to sample each kind a number of times before I could decide which one I wanted to fill my bucket with. I must admit, most of the REALLY REALLY BIG ones (the size of quarters) didn't make it into the bucket. However, I did manage to get one or two of the juciy jewels into my bucket where they later ended up in my breakfast bowl and pie the rest of the week. Good thing I had a few clients to visit this week so I could drop off some of the blueberry cheesecake to them instead of eyeballing it all week in my refrigerator.
Picking fruit was a nice change of pace from spending hundreds of dollars standing in line at the theme parks....and the spoils of the day end up being delicious treats for the family and to share with friends. The one bucket I picked filled filled what I think was a gallon Ziplock bag.
What was even more fun was figuring out what to make with them after they were picked. One other trick I learned from a lady I met at the field was to spread them all out flat on a cookie sheet before freezing them so they freeze individually...that way when you bag them back up they do no stick to each other. Pretty cool trick.
So this week I delivered my "touch point" notes and business cards with a Sweet Treat! Nothing beats a piece of frozen blueberry cheesecake on a Hot FL afternoon! I know shamless way to get my business cards back into circulation within my sphere but I figured it was a lot better than the usually Hi How Are You Email!
Giving is half the fun of this job anyway.....got to love what you do and make fun where we can!