Picking blueberries at Blase Family Farm will now be a yearly tradition of ours. We took home our fill of incredibly flavorful juicy berries, and felt good about supporting a local small business in the process. I put them to use in some fantastic recipes, and we had fresh berries as snacks for a week. If you want to hear me talk about why our experience was so great, read this post. If you’d rather not hear me babble, and want to skip to the recipes find them here: blueberry lemon cobbler with basil whipped cream, blueberry jalapeño jam, blueberry whiskey smash.
It’s no secret that quarantine has, to put it lightly, sucked. That’s not to say some aspects haven’t been a refreshing break from the norm. But when I think of the reality of the situation, people have lost theirs lives, businesses, and families to this disease. It feels extremely selfish to think of this time as a blessing. I try my best to be an optimist, however, and the quality time I’ve been able to spend with my family has been an absolute treasure to me.
The storm before the calm.
The few months after my son was born were the busiest of my career in the past few years. Continuous back to back shoots for new high profile clients, demanded not only long hours on set, but constant back and forth communications, edit revisions, and set builds. All the while, I was having to search for a new studio. The owner of the space I was currently partnered with had just accepted an offer to sell, and informed me of a closing date which was right around the corner. Then there was the travel time. We love our small community outside the hustle of Dallas, but my commute to the studio is nearly an hour each way with traffic. I would leave before the sun was up, and often come home after dinner. When I was able to be home, I still wasn’t truly off the clock. Whether on the phone, or just thinking through logistics, I could not seem to switch off.
No doubt, this time was financially fruitful for our new little family, and as any parent knows, babies aren’t cheap. There’s the diapers, medical bills, day care, and all the other costs associated. The little poop machines quickly add a good chunk to your monthly bills. I felt blessed to be able to provide security, but the timing of this surge in my career was difficult to cope with.
Let me just pause here to say that my wife is a rockstar.
Caitlin stepped up!! Pulling up all my slack, while recovering from an unplanned C Section, she never once complained. She is the glue that held us together.
One night in March, she asked what I wanted for my birthday. Just now realizing that I was turning 29 the next day, my honest answer was just “A day off”. Words I never expected to hear, being a self realized work-a-haulic. But that was the truth. My son had just turned a month old, and I felt like I had hardly spent any time with him. So being the wonderful partner she is, she surprised me the next day. She brought my boy, along with a much needed flat white to set. I lost it. That’s the only time I’ve cried on a job. Thankfully, no one saw.
Things eventually slowed down a bit to a more manageable pace, and we fell into “the groove”. But I still felt like I missed out on time I would never get back with my son.
Then came Quarantine.
Like a tsunami, covid-19 swept away any momentum we had built. We suddenly found our clients cancelling shoots left and right. Our calendars were constantly changing, and it felt like the only thing we could count on, was that it didn’t look like we’d be returning to normal any time soon.
But maybe this wasn’t such a bad thing? Maybe this could provide a change in perspective, and shift our focus back on what life is really about. I know I needed a reality check, and this was exactly the kind of kick in the ass to do it.
The new normal.
We started taking walks every day. Sometimes two. Our neighbors set up socially distanced scavenger hunts. The trails around our house were suddenly filled with little gnome houses, and other arts and crafts. It felt like the community was noticing each other for the first time in a while, and everyone was doing their part to make this strange new world as enjoyable as possible.
Caitlin was fantastic at creating little activities for us to do with Charlie, and we did our best to enrich his world which was now confined to our house. But there was still a bit of sadness in the air. All this time at home together was amazing, but we felt like he was missing out on experiences to learn about new places and ideas. Everything we could think of to get him out of the house felt dangerous. Even we weren’t too worried about our own health, we wanted to be responsible and do our part to flatten the curve.
A friend of Caitlin’s had posted about blase family farm, a small local farm that was allowing folks to come and socially distance while having the chance to pick their own blueberries, and we thought “Fresh air, and showing Charlie where one of his favorite snacks actually comes from? Where do we sign up?!”. Well it turns out, that we had to wait for weeks. Refreshing the Facebook page at the exact moment they released the new spots each day, trying to get our names on the list. Persistence paid off and we finally were able to get a slot.
The perfect escape.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a kid eat more unripe berries.
The farm was perfect. Just big enough to feel like we were completely safe, while knowing we were supporting a family rather than a huge corporate operation.
We had a blast picking berries, doing our best to keep Charlie from eating them all before we could pay the nice folks who run the farm. We did our best to soak up every minute of this little break from the monotony. Charlie had seen were food comes from. He had connected with the process, and formed a tangible understanding of why we need to take care of our environment, and consider each choice and how it will effect everyone around us…
Ok, maybe that’s not true. He is only one. But we did get some damn good blueberries! Check out some of the recipes we made: Blueberry Lemon Cobbler with Basil Infused Whipped Cream, Blueberry Whiskey Smash, Blueberry Jalapeño Jam.
If you live in the Dallas area, go check out blase family farm. You can find all the information on their seasons and schedule on their website, https://blasefamilyfarm.com. If you’re not in Dallas, find any local farms around you, and see if they offer any similar opportunities. Fresh produce never tastes better than when you harvest it with your own hands.
