When you fall off the horse...
While my wife's vacation officially ended yesterday and she was back at work, the hot weather has extended through weekend, with change on the horizon. So, we booked a place at the farm to pick our own raspberries. They are normally awesome from this place and about a third of the price we can get them from in the supermarket.
However, we were a little early in the season it seems, so even though there were plenty, it took a bit more work to find the rip ones amongst the green and nearly ripe ones. Other times we have gone it have been able to fill our containers in less than an hour, and it took us an hour and a half to get eight kilos (~18 lb) of delicious, sweet raspberries. That doesn't include the handfuls we stuffed down our gullets along the way either.
10.5€ /kg compared to almost 30€ /kg in the shops
You might remember from a few weeks ago, we went strawberry picking at the same place, but it is quite different and harder, as strawberries grow close to the ground. Raspberries are just there at the perfect height. And when the weather was so warm, it was far more pleasant to not have to bend down and search.
There was a light breeze blowing up from the lake and through the strawberry fields, so the scent of ripe strawberries came wafting over to us as well. It was quite a beautiful experience, and it is fun with the girls who are quietly picking and often talking about all the awesome berry collections they would find.
Berried treasure.
Calculated risk?
No.
There was no calculation involved. For the first time for the girls (and the second for me with the first being when I was about 12), we went to the trots (Australians call it), or whatever it is called in other places. Horse racing with the rider in a buggy. In Finland, they don't do horse racing on horseback at all I believe, though I am not sure why. Though, looking at the size of the drivers today, I might have a clue as to the reason.
Jockeys are normally very short and petite.
And we had a flutter.
Sonce my wife had never been and I had no idea either, Smallsteps picked our horse for the next race and tried to put a 5€ bet on. However, there was some fanangling around with IDs and signups and the like, so we missed the window. Wouldn't you know it??
Smallsteps picked a winner.
Missed 40€
And that was the only winner we collectively picked for the day, though we only put a bet on one ore race. But as you can see, Smallsteps might have the gambling bug in her.
Look at the rest in the picture.
There was definitely a different type of person that went to these races than we normally hang out with. Lots of older people, and a lot of Romani. Not many really seemed to be having any fun there either, but we enjoyed the experience as a family, though it isn't going to be a regular thing. I would be a bad gambler, as I would bet on the longshots every time.
This is why crypto suits me.
We did the whole horse racing experience though, and went to have hot wings after the races, as so many of the people seem to do. And then, on bellied full, we came back home, sugared the raspberries we had picked and put them in the freezer, keeping some fresh for the next couple days, dropped a container to the elderly neighbours (we did the same with strawberries earlier), and went for a swim in the lake.
And just as we came home to watch the replay of the Formula 1 qualifying session, the sky cracked open and it absolutely poured down, with lightning and thunder to accompany it. It is now much cooler and at least tonight, we won't have to water the garden.
We have a confirmation event all day tomorrow, so more family time on the cards. I am designated photographer though, which is fine since no one talks to me there anyway.
Oh...
And when you fall off the horse?
When I was seven years of age my friend put me on one of his race horses. And it immediately knew it had a bunny on its back and started jumping weeds in the field we were in. I held on for as long as I could but fell, and while I was on my back, the horse reared up above me and came down, with its hooves hitting the ground, either side of my chest.
I never got back on a horse.
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Comments (18)
Kids and luck... When I first went back to play Splinterlands, I let Lily click on the cards to flip while I was doing her hair. The first time we did that, she pulled a GF Legendary Gladiator (unfortunately not one of the awesome ones). That card alone had more CP than my whole collection back then 😅
What are you going to do with the raspberries? Jam? Ice Cream? Or just eat the 18lb asap?
Smallsteps used to enjoy ,flipping the end of season rewards. Sad that doesn't happen now.
We will eat them throughout the year, either in breakfasts, on ice cream, or in pies.
It's great that you got to soak up the beautiful weather and enjoy the nice breeze from the lake, all while being surrounded by nature's gifts. We have been burning due to the heatwave for a week here.
When you say burning, I believe you! I would fry there these days.
Almost everyone in our gardens has raspberries. And they are inexpensive at the market, 3-4 euros per kilogram. Our grandfather has a lot of raspberry bushes near his house, and now he sells them every day.
We had a few, but we had to pull them out when we were doing the yard last year. We might put some back later. Our neighbours have some awesome ones.
I go to see horse racing once every few years but never make more than a minimum ($2) bet. Fun to watch, especially if you’re standing near the finish line.
I have ridden fairly tame horses a few times but I’ve always been kind of scared of them. They’re about four times my size and could easily kill me.
Do you ever win anything significant?
So can a car! ;D
I lose more than I win but I go so rarely that it doesn’t matter.
When it comes to gambling, the only version where I ever put halfway-significant money at risk is poker. At least there, skill is a factor. No slots or roulette or any other gambling where it’s all pure luck.
With disciplined bankroll management and card counting, it’s possible to be a long-term winner at blackjack but, for me at least, sitting at a blackjack table for hours at a time is just too boring.
They call that harness racing over here. We used to have a track about an hour away from where I live, but they closed it down a long time ago. We have been getting a hot streak right now too. The humidity and dew point are through the roof. It's crazy. That sucks the raspberries weren't quite ready yet.
I think they call it the same in Australia officially too. Maybe. I am not sure :)
They were ready enough. There were plenty that were ripe, but it just took a bit longer to find them.
Those raspberries look really good! Made me look up what is up with our raspberry farm and it sounds like it will be the last picking opportunity early next week: https://www.baileyveg.com/
Surprisingly it sounds like we can already pick potatoes...
Will you go picking?
I thought potatoes were earlier in the season! :D I am not much of a farmer.
Reminds me of the UK when we had a couple of pick your own farms just up the road from where we lived. One was fruit and the other vegetables and not surprisingly the rules changed. We spotted a large family with blankets and chairs that had bought there own bowls, cream and sugar having a free picnic feasting on strawberries. They were kicked out as they had no intention of buying any. It is good fun and a good family outing and yes picking raspberries are friendlier on the back. Are you planning on making your legendary Pavlovas?
Here, there is a 15€ fee for each picker, that comes off the price of what is picked later :)
I have already made a few this summer for parties :) Might do one more.
Well charging for entry and taking it off the bill is smart and common sense. We have been buying frozen berries in bulk and making jam, but I do like a good pavlova with a sticky center meringue.
Beautiful farm and great community y'all got! 😊☺️
What a rich, wholesome day, from berry picking to horse races, sounds like memories made on every front 🍓🐎
Watching the horse race will be much fun when you place a good bet and win but can also be a bad day when you lose lol. However seeing smallsteps in that photo shows she's really happy her horse won while the older people are not smiling.
oh my goodness, what a traumatic horse experience. sorry that happened to you.
what a lovely day u all had picking the berries and then watching the trots. yea, those jockeys sure weren't petite at all! :P
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You see, life is beautiful, enjoying family time, experiencing new things, making the most of the holidays. That's what I do with Matthew, we enjoy every season to the fullest.
I'm glad you had a wonderful time, especially the little Smallsteps, her smile watching the horse race is symbolic of that joy. A hug full of blessings.
She would have been happier if her horse had won.
Late Autumn is the worst season here at least. Dark, wet, cold - and muddy.
It's not unusual for me to see horse floats while driving around here but I was recently mildly confused by a truck with something on the back that was also pulling what I was very sure was a horse float. On approaching I eventually identified the thing on the back of the actual truck was one of those buggy things.
Smallsteps looks like she was having fun XD so they don't dress up to ridiculousness like they seem to do over here? Not that I know what goes on over here anymore I just remember seeing a lot of ads with people dressed up and in the past comments about who was wearing what to the races.
Look like horns when they are carrying them :D I am from "horse country" so it was pretty normal to see them (and people riding horses in the streets).
Oh no! This is not Melbourne Cup kind of stuff. It is very, very ummm ... basic? :D
I laughed at your description of the horse races and how the atmosphere there is so different from the places you usually go to. Still, it's clear that you enjoyed the experience out of curiosity and being part of it and that's the most beautiful part of it all 😄
Have you ever been to the races?
Maybe she will pick Hive in the future. that 8 times increase in value would be most welcome.😛
I'd be happy with 8x
Wow nice experience,it nice having time with families and enjoying it,I'm glad to engage on this article
The raspberries don't seem ripe enough. They need to turn black. Eating the red berries gives me stomach aches. They don't taste good either.
The horses can sometimes get restless, which can be very dangerous for novices.
They are blackberries though. Different, aren't they? These won't ever turn black at least.
Yes, they are blackberries .