For my birthday this year, one of my best friends gave me the sweetest, most thoughtful gift…a date to go pick blueberries at The Blueberry Farm in LaFayette, GA.  And pick we did.  By the time we made it to The Blueberry Farm, the blueberries were almost gone, but we were still able to pick a bucket full (almost).

We ended up combining both of our efforts to get that bucket.

After a morning of picking, we sat down under the shade of a tree to share a picnic.

An absolutely delicious picnic by the way:  a French baguette, cashews, cheese, salame, and a cucumber.  So good (and filling and definitely not healthy)!  Before going to The Blueberry Farm, we stopped by Earthfare and bought an assortment of cheeses and some other goodies for a little lunch.  We obviously got a little carried away in our enthusiasm for good cheese and bought way more than was necessary.  Our little tasting consisted of :  Comte, Gruyere, Gouda, Mediterranean Herb, and Sequatchie Cove’s Dancing Fern.  And for the salame – delicious and one I would highly recommend!  Olli Salumeria, from Mechanicsville, VA, tastes of authentic Italian salami (and the flavor choices are so tempting).  We ended up getting the Molisana: pepper and garlic with Sangiovese wine (I have a weak spot for Sangiovese wines – one of the best wines I ever had was a sangiovese).  The Toscana with fennel sounded fabulous too!  This will definitely be my go to brand in the future for sure.  I could go on and on about them, but encourage you to check out their site to read about their philosophy and production, and try some yourself!

After lunch, we enjoyed a tour around the property with Joe Kilpatrick, the owner of The Blueberry Farm.  He told us all about their solar energy use, fruit production, and  answered whatever questions we had.  I loved strolling around the property and hearing about the hard work and effort that they put into their farm.  So inspiring – my dream of all dreams is to live as self-sufficient and sustainable as possible.

Interesting fact:  they are home to an American Chestnut tree, which were hit by a blight back in the 1900s.  The Blueberry Farm was approached to be host to a couple of trees and they are looking good!

Although blueberry season is over for this year, you can still visit in the fall to harvest grapes or just try to remember to come back next year.  It is entirely you-pick, honor system style, and makes for a wonderful day.  Loved it!