Picking Strawberries in February

It's Strawberry Picking Time!

We Floridians are picking strawberries.  I know it's not fair as many of you are shoveling snow, again.  But for us, this time of the year is wonderfully delicious and worthy of celebration.  Our harvest season is beginning and the berries are ripe. Have you ever picked strawberries in February?  We drive to the "Strawberry Capital" otherwise know as Plant City, Florida, and pick our berries from the vines.   

We spend hours bent over the patches selecting the beauties that hang so close to the ground. Our red fingers are the trophy of our endeavors and our faces stained with the red juices are evidence we played the "two for the basket, one for me" game. They're so sweet there's no need for sugar.  

My husband and I remember how difficult it is to stand up after picking, so now we buy them from a Plant City farmer's stand. (Experience has its benefits.)  Of course we can always buy them at the grocery store, but somehow they just don't taste the same. 

Before driving home, we stop at a fruit and vegetable stand which serves Strawberry Shortcake.  After waiting in line for 40 minutes, we finally get our reward...strawberry shortcake with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream!  

Then the hard part comes...cleaning and slicing them.I prepare some ready for snacking and for freezing, hoping to have them gone before they start to soften. 

In addition to strawberries, the fields are full of blueberries and blackberries, ripe and available for U-Pick.  Harvest time is short...by April, the heat is beginning and the season is over.  

So those of you digging out the snow, your time for fresh fruits and veggies are just a few weeks (or months) away.  Meanwhile, check out your grocery stores for strawberries from Plant City and Enjoy!

If you can't find strawberries yet in your grocery store, check out Page 43 of the Stampin' Up! 2021 - 2022  Annual Catalog for the SWEET STRAWBERRY Stampset (# 158231 | $18.00)  and the SWEET STRAWBERRY BUNDLE which includes the Strawberry Punch (#159523 |  $32.25).  Below is a picture of cards I made last year using the bundle and some Sale-a-Bration Designer Series Papers that were available to earn.

Do you remember the beautiful berry Designer Series Paper available for FREE during the Sale-a-Bration?  Remember that Sale-a-Bration is going on now, but ends on February 28th.  Don't miss out on earning the gorgeous stamp sets and beautiful papers now available.  Next year you maybe wishing you had those FREE goodies! 

PS:  If you don't have the strawberry stamp set or bundle, you can purchase it (or anything from the 2021 - 2022 Annual Catalog) to earn the FREE Sale-a-Bration products available NOW!

Click on the picture to the right to browse the Sale-a-Bration Catalog

You, too, can satisfy your tastebuds by creating some tasty looking cards!  If you already own the strawberry stamp set or bundle, pull them out of your stash and create new cards to send friends to remind them that Spring and Summer are not far away.  

-- Janice