Feeling Blue? Just Wine A Little.

When I was little, I used to go blueberry picking with my mom. She would pick buckets upon buckets of blueberries, and I would "help", although I'm pretty sure I ate more than I ever put in the bucket. When we got home, she would bake. Much of what she made would go in the freezer ("they're for Christmas, Terri!") but there was always a treat after supper or in my lunchbox the next day. 

September of 2012 found me wondering if I could re-create some of my mother's recipes and knowing full well that store-bought blueberries just weren't going to cut it. A trip to a u-pick blueberry farm would do just nicely, however, and if that u-pick blueberry farm happened to also be a winery, well, who am I to argue?

Cue: Lunenburg County Winery.

The winery is located on beautiful Hackmatack Farm just outside of Mahone Bay, NS. Along with the winery and blueberry farm, there is a picnic area and a lady by the name of Heather who weaves baskets in her onsite craft shop.

The way the u-pick works is that you purchase a bucket in the shop before you start, and fill it to your heart's desire with berries. I don't remember the exact price of the bucket off the top of my head, but I do know it was comparable to buying the berries in a grocery store, and on top of that, you know that your berries were absolutely, one hundred percent fresh. That sounds like a definite win to me.

And off we go...

Uh-oh, bucket's full.... wait... what's this?

No, for the record, you can't pick the grapes. You can, however, certainly buy them in their very best form. 

Which I did.
A lot.
And a lot more since.

After the harvest was loaded into the car, there was a bit of time to wander the grounds. I have to say, the place is pretty remarkable. Someone puts a lot of time and care into keeping the area in top shape.

On the way back to the highway, there is a tiny graveyard. The stones are old and alluring...

...and hauntingly sad.

Because I know you're dying to know, yes, indeed, the very next day, I made my first ever pie from scratch. My mother recommended her best friend's recipe for the crust, and her own for the filling. If I do say so myself, it was pretty tasty, and I'll tell you for sure that not one bit of it got saved for Christmas.