Did somebody say “lavender?”

Lavender harvest 1

Workers were busy harvesting lavender at Graysmarsh Farm this week. Soon bundles will scent cars and luggage as our visitors head home after this weekend’s Lavender Festival. Some farms pre-pick bundles for lavender lovers and some are harvesting the herb to dry or distill it for lotions, soaps and essential oil.

Lavender harvest 2

Professionals harvest and shape the bushes at the same time.

Bundles

These bundles were waiting at Jardin du Soleil last week. Lavender bouquets typically run $5 to $6.

Berry season

Summer in the Pacific Northwest brings the sweet ripening of berries, which sometimes seem to grow like they were invented here. After strawberries are picked out a steady parade of berries ripen. Last week I noticed that Graysmarsh Farm is advertising raspberries and I headed out for my first pick of the season.

I love raspberries and fresh pick-them-yourself berries will spoil any berry lover for the “store bought” variety that promptly seem overpriced, not ripe enough, and, well, just plain old. And Graysmarsh on a sunny day has a wonderful view of the Olympics.

I said, “overpriced,” didn’t I? I didn’t catch the exact weight of my booty here. I think it was about two and a half pounds. This set me back $4.56.