Two weeks ago the sign went up. We saw it on the way home from school. Of course I had to stop.
Thirty miles up the road, the city of Santa Maria is known for its strawberries. But Rosa’s are the best. She brings them from her fields in Lompoc and Santa Maria and sells them at her roadside stand in Solvang.
My son swears she grows them with sugar water. The centers are so sweet, so juicy, the berries so large. I buy half a flat at a time, six little green baskets filled to overflowing. The stand is less than two miles from our house, but two baskets are empty before we pull into the driveway.
When I was growing up, one of the grocery stores in Southern California had this overly cheery woman singing this really goofy jingle: "Summer, summer fruits, it wouldn't be summer without 'em!" I hated it as a child because it would get stuck in my head for days. Obviously, it's still there. I haven't tortured my children with it. Yet.
But when I saw the strawberry stand, when my car filled with that heavenly aroma as my children devoured the berries...It’s the first delicious hint of summer. Are you ready?
10 comments:
Yes, I'm ready!!!!!
Love fresh strawberries!
So do we!
Oh.... I passed by the strawberries in the store today. I said, "maybe later when their sweeter and not so expensive." Now I'm wishing I had bought them!
I bought sweet purple grapes instead, with some aged sharp white cheddar. Oh. Wow. What a treat.
You know, it's these kinds of things that make our lives wonderful day to day, isn't it?
You're killing me here. Just killing me. What's sweeter than sweet strawberries?
Oh, I love fresh California strawberries. The best! I miss those.
Where I live is big on cherries, so we have lots of fresh cherry stands in the summer.
Oh I am always jealous of you lucky people who live in sunny california!
My mouth is watering!!
Glam - Grapes and cheese sounds yummy!
Beth - Nothing...
Rena - We love cherries too!
Katie - If it's any consolation, sometimes we wish for snow :^)
Kelly - Mine too -- I'm off to eat some more ;)
My goodness!!! The "Summer, Summer Fruit" song popped into my head this afternoon so I thought I would check Google. This giggle enters into my brain after 30+ year. I see you have the same problem. :)
Wow...I think of this jingle every year when summer comes around, and it always gives me a good warm feeling now because even though it was definitely kind of cheesy & earwormy it always meant my favorite season was finally here and the delicious summer fruits I love so much were on their way. Thanks for sharing this, I loved reading your post, I actually found it while googling to hear the jingle again because I was feeling nostalgic about it! The best strawberries we have had so far here in the Long Beach area have been from the Thacker Berry stands but I think they probably come from your area anyway, and we seem to have the same issue with arriving home with several empty baskets!
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