We immediately washed and change our wrinkled bedclothes to something nicer and drove to Shouldice Berry Farms. It's strawberry picking day!
The farm has three locations in Ottawa: Richmond Road, Woodroffe Avenue, and Merivale Road. We went to where it's convenient.
Upon reaching the farm, I began to worry if we will be able to do what we came for. Small droplets of water hit our windshield, threatening to put our plan to naught. Thankfully, it changed it's mind before we could step out of the car. As quickly as it came, so quickly did it come to an end.
Costs
We paid CAD 8 for a small basket. The bigger ones cost CAD 15. You only pay for your basket. The entrance fee is free and so does the parking.
As we made our way to the rows of green, a ripe strawberry scent permeated the atmosphere. The husband said, "It felt like someone is burning scented candles." Except you don't get the off-putting smell of gaseous wax in the air. Dear, this is all au-naturel!
It was wet. (Of course!) Glad the hay on the ground protected our shoes from stepping on mud or puddles of water. No complaints there actually, I'm grateful to have come after the rain. We had the farm all to ourselves for photo opts, save for another family, or two.
We came at the end of the harvest season; most of the bigger-sized strawberries have already been picked. You'll have to keep looking under those leaves to get your big delicious red. The best time to come is in mid-June. The farm opens until mid-July.
Strawberry picking is fun for little children. Our little boy enjoyed it a lot! He loves putting the freshly picked strawberries into his mouth than in the basket. Haha. He even pushed the leaves together with the fruit. Oops!
The strawberries at Shouldice Berry Farms are surprisingly sweet. It isn't sloppy, it isn't dry either. I expected it sour just like the ones you get in grocery stores but no, it's not the same. In my estimate, the sourness of the strawberries you get here is about 25 percent. It's soft too, it glides deliciously in your throat.
We only scoured two rows of green. The strawberry picking only took less than 30 minutes. Well, it could be less than 20 or 15 minutes if I didn't lag behind, taking lots of photos. (lol)
We could have stayed longer if the sun isn't burning hot on our backs. We came during the hottest part of the day, thinking the overcast clouds would shield us from the sun.
We headed home and made a milkshake out of our hard work. I've seen others canning theirs. That would be an interesting project to do the next time.
+++
If living or visiting Ottawa and looking for fun activities to do in the summer, go strawberry picking. Here's the Shouldice Berry Farms website for more information.
Also, you might want to check out Dow's Lake in Summer too, link here.
Have fun!
If you like this kind of content, follow Gladys Jane on Instagram and Facebook to get future updates.