Why I Love Virginia ~ Levering Orchard

Yesterday we loaded up some friends and headed out to Ararat, Virginia to the Levering Orchard.  (I just realized that long ago I read the owner's book about their return to the farm in Simple Living:  One Couple's Search for A Better Life - the couple meet at Harvard, move to Los Angeles, and come 'home' to the farm to live more simply and get away from consumer driven culture.  A GREAT read!)

Their sweet cherries were ripe and the picking easy.  Ladders are posted around the trees and the kids had great fun climbing and picking (and eating).  Some were better pickers than others.  We had a great day, although interstate traffic backups had us driving backroads.  The weather was beautiful, cool and bright.  The scenery was amazing... confirming my love of the countryside of Virginia ~ rolling hills, blue ridge in the background, puffy clouds, and haybales.

Together we picked over 60 pounds!!  Cherries will continue to ripen over the next weeks and it looks like early summer apples will too, and peaches starting in mid-July!  Might be worth another trip!

So far, I've pitted about 15 cups worth and put them into ziplock bags (5 cups or so in each ~ perfect for a pie or cobbler).  I expect we'll eat a ton camping this weekend with our college friends! Have a great weekend folks!