Upcoming Events for July in SE Missouri

Here in the next few weeks there will be a fireworks and festivities going on called Skyfire 2011, vendors, businesses, etc will all be out there so if you want to get a booth now is the chance.  Happens on July 2nd, so if you're interested in selling wares or promoting your business get on the ball.  West Plains/Pomona area is where it will be, and you can call the West Plains City Hall for more information.

Had a good windstorm and a little rain two days ago, no damage just a sprinkle of rain and a lot of wind, so it was a bit noisy, but just a passing storm really.  Today is a beautiful day however, and if you're working outside in the heat, the all day constant breeze is a welcomed delight!

As per the berries, the black raspberries are in full splendor, about a handful a day has been ripening, but I've only been able to find a small patch, the rest are blackberries ripening every day as well. Made a delicious blackberry and blueberry pie last night, it's half gone already! No vanilla ice cream to go with it though, would make the dish let me tell ya.

Wild Berries ripe for the picking!

Looks like rain in the forecast, but we'll see if there's gonna be any of it falling soon enough, weather man says 40% chance of it here, but sometimes it just passes us by. Though with black raspberries, red raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and juneberries popping up soon, we want the rain to make them nice, juicy and plump for the picking!

While driving on a backroad I came across a nice little patch of ripening black raspberries, there were a few ripe ones and I wasn't about to let the birds and animals get them before I did! With some rain coming they'll be nice and plump as long as the rain falls. The few berries that I grabbed up were about dime size, maybe a little smaller and though delicious, I would have liked them a bit bigger.

For those around here in Missouri, mainly south east and in the Ozarks area, most of us go Blackberry picking towards the end of June and mid-July when the berries are out in full measure, but though I've lived here all my life, I didn't know that we had black and red raspberries and juneberries and mulberries around until I bought a wild berries and fruits guide for Missouri, Illinois and Iowa. In the fall there's Paw Paw trees with fruit, ground Plums and so much more that grows wild, including wild Strawberries, which are so much sweeter than those from the store!

I plan on going hiking this next weekend to scout out some tasty areas that have the blooms and hopefully ripening fruits on them to come back to when the berry bushes are in full splendor with a large bucket and a hungry stomach!

Spring into Summer!

So far this year it's been hot and rainy. Though with all this rain the delicious blackberries, raspberries and wild blueberries and strawberries that grow here in southeast Missouri will  be plump and juicy sweet come picking time!  The gardens and farms will be happy for the rain as well, seeing how in August we'll all want it to rain sooner or later, as August is the dog days of Summer, we're all down at the rivers jumping from ropes tied to trees or if it's deep enough, bluffs.

Campgrounds get scarce this time of year, everyone is looking for the perfect camping spot when all the "free" campsites are taken and overcrowded down in the campgrounds. We have some great campsites available, near the rivers and they're private, so if you don't want to miss out on some perfect campsites check out what we have on our website and get in touch with Ed about securing your spot for the Summer or even the whole year, they're available for lease! (We have some Cabins as well!)