Declare Independence from the Tyranny of Your Day Job and Go Raspberry Picking at the Most Auspicious Hour; New Donuts.

BELOVED ‘CREEKNIKS: Yesterday was Independence Day, and we were quickly admonished by at least one Farm Fan that we should call it INTERDEPENDENCE Day.

Fair enough. Nothing says interdependence like the pageant of rampant nationalist fervor called the World Cup. We hope you are taking a break at 10 AM and 2 PM each day to watch the “contests” on the “pitch” televised from the People’s Oligarchic Kingdom of Putinlandia. Viva glasnost.

Sadly our neighbor Mexico is out of the tourney. Our other neighbor Canada never had a prayer with all the tariffs dragging them down. Meanwhile the Trudeau tit-for-tat is targeting USA strawberry jam (we sh*t you not), but this should not affect picking conditions here at The ‘Creek. We are onto raspberry season now. You can pick the LAST 2 ROWS of strawberries and that will be adios for the season.

Yes, razz is the name of the game. The Strawberry Moon was followed posthaste by the Raspberry Rainbow, captured here over the razz patch by our own Farmer Ly (“Lee”). You can pick raspberries in the main patch — see the map on the new 2018 brochure – or along the fenceline which is not shown on the map for national security reasons.

Margo and Peter had the right idea, and they earned “Farmketeers of the Week” in the bargain. The sweetest people you’ll ever meet, loving up on The ‘Creek and volunteering for local causes. They picked berries before the midday heat. We encourage all of you to pick in the cool morning hours then report to work just in time for lunch break and scintillating afternoon meetings about… What are we meeting about again?

Pick garlic scapes! You can save the date for the Big Garlic Harvest Party (Saturday July 28) but meanwhile you can pick your own scapes for stirfry and pesto and snacks.

Meanwhile down at the farm stand you will find sweet cherries, fresh lettuce, scapes, and more goodies as each passing week takes us deeper into harvest season.

New! Chanterelles! Locally foraged for you specialty fungus eaters. Get your treat while supplies last.

After shrooms comes psychedelic desert. All-star Farm Fan @seganmilverstein combined a pound of chèvre from award-winning hometown cheese artisans @livelyrundairy with raspberries she picked on the farm to create this eye-popping gutbuster of a cheesecake. Drooool.

Not to be outdone by cheesecake flash and sparkle, Kendall of @kendalls.kitchen created this stirring homage to 1980s convenience culture – fruit “leather” A.K.A. fruit rollup. Strawberries from The ‘Creek, pitted dates, craisins, Chianti Classico, rhubarb, and a plum! Yum.

Which brings us to donuts. Our new Mark 2 Donut RoBoT has been the focus of intense experimentation. Testing testing 1… 2… 3… 4… 5… 6… 7… We are going to stick out our necks and forecast 100% chance of donuts on Saturday and Sunday 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. What they will LOOK like is anyone’s guess. Come be part of the clinical trials.

We will experiment on you for FREE. That’s right, you can get a FREE donut if you put a new orange sticker on your car while we watch. It’s not that we don’t trust you… But seriously stick it on, get a donut.

Or a FREE tart cherry slushee! Same deal, sticker for slushee. Delicious and refreshing and they will give you brain freeze if you go too fast. Slurp. Rest. Slurp. Rest.

What are we cooking up here? Well, steel, yes. Cold-rolled Russian steel is getting cooked. But please stay tuned to find out what will happen to this old harrow. Don’t hold your breath, it could be done in a week or a year. But stay tuned. Hint: Stumphenge.