Each week Sunday Scribblings issues a prompt looking to inspire submissions, it has been awhile since inspiration last hit me. Today the prompt is strawberries and I have a TON of strong memories for these little balls of deliciousness.

Earliest memories have me in a large field picking for a farmer who needed help getting his crop in. The plants grow close to the ground and it’s not the easiest job n the world but it was good experience for a young kid. My first official job, other than in the field picking, was on the belt in a processing plant picking the unacceptable berries off the line before they were washed and frozen. At least there we were standing, much better in so many ways.

Over the years I’d still visit farmer’s field but to pick for myself this time. We’d freeze them for winter. Some whole, some sliced ready for strawberry shortcake or ice cream with strawberries. So good. They didn’t all make it to the freezer though, they were wonderful fresh and we couldn’t resist eating our fill. The best of the berries went in the freezer but the rest went into jam jars. There is nothing like homemade jam.

I did a lot of canning and freezing over the years but life moves on. Now it’s easier to pick them up at the grocery store with seasonal availability no longer an issue.

Raspberries were a big part of my life too, for all the same reasons, but I liked strawberries so much better. Still do. Probably because raspberries were so much easier to grow and the abundance was a burden sometimes. And they aren’t as sweet.

So many good memories. I could go for some right about now. All this talk is making me hungry for sweet strawberries.