Guess what …..
  The Blueberry picking season will start on Thursday, June 12th.
YEH!!!
Our guests have been picking blackberries since Tuesday, June 3rd.
Our hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
To get blackberries, I would encourage you to come at 8 a.m. (or just after). We have been running out of ripe blackberries by 10:30 a.m. or 11:00 a.m. each day.
There are two fields of thornless blackberries that are just now getting ripe and I know that the berries will here for you to pick for a while longer.
 Pearce has started buying "already picked" blueberries from our friend in E. Texas. We had our first 100 gallons of blueberries for sale last Saturday, June 7th. Because the price of the berries has gone up for us and because of the cost of GASOLINE, we are charging $20 per gallon.
If you want to make certain that we hold berries for you, you will need to call us and leave your name, phone number and the number of gallons of berries that you want. I will call you back and get any other information that I need. Any berries left over after that will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.
With the start of the Blueberry Season, we began our fantastic Saturdays. Saturday, June 14th is going to be such a wonderful day. We are calling it "Family Day" since it falls the day before Father’s Day. We will have planned great entertainment for all of the children. The time for this will be 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the cost is $7.50 per child. Here is what we are going to have to keep them having fun all morning:
We have invited a great petting zoo to set up in our back yard. Cathy’s Critters are bringing all sorts of little animals for the children to feed and pet. This may be the first time many of the little ones from the big city have seen anything like this. Cathy is also bringing her little ponies for the kids to ride. Don’t worry they will be well supervised. I would suggest that all you parents and grandparents bring cameras and take pictures of the big smiles. In addition to this, we will have two of the large bouncers for them to play on and we have Balloon Betty coming in from Richardson to make animals for the children out of her balloons.
We had a concessionaire hired to fix hamburgers, hot dogs and everything that goes with them; but they have run into a glitch and don’t have a cook. Well, let me tell you, I have been able to get one of my favorites to come every Saturday. Those of you from the Sherman/Denison area are probably familiar with them.
  They are Quesadilla Mendoza. They serve their wonderful food at the Peanut Festival in Whitesboro, the Sherman Arts Festival and the Bell’s Fall Festival. Pearce and I first ate their food at the Arts Festival in Sherman a couple of years ago. One bite and we knew that what they served to us was authentic and not just 'Tex-Mex'. Their specialty is quesadillas. They make 7 different ones. I know that it is fresh because the tortillas for the quesadillas are made and cooked on site. I know that you will enjoy watching this. Their salsa is delicious but, if you are feeding your children or just don’t like anything hot, they are happy to leave it off. They will also be cooking breakfast burritos for those of you who didn’t eat before you left home or it you are still hungry when you get here.
Thursday, June 19th is another special day. Chef Kathy Zeis will be here to give a cooking demonstration using the berries. Her demonstration will start at 9:30 a.m. and after that is over she will stay around until 11:30 a.m. selling her new cookbook (and signing it if you would like it signed) and selling her line of great salsas. These are now being carried in Albertsons. Channel 12 television station, KXII, will be here filming and the demonstration will be shown on their station sometime during the morning news program the next morning.
 The following Saturday, June 21st is our annual "Western Day". We have an authentic Chuck Wagon coming in here from the Texas Panhandle to cook your breakfast. Bring quilts to sit on or your own personal yard chair, if you wish. For $12 a person (children under 4 years old are free) you will enjoy a meal of fresh blueberry pancakes, sausage, eggs, orange juice and coffee. Breakfast will be served from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. There will be lots of entertainment for you to listen to while you eat or just lounge around. Lanny Joe Burnett and his gang will be here telling stories and singing songs for everyone. The Chuck Wagon will be serving barbeque beef sandwiches for lunch or you can enjoy the Mendoza’s Mexican food.
Tickets for the chuck wagon breakfast can be bought in advance for $10. Be sure to put your name and phone number on the ticket that you give to them for your breakfast. Door prizes will be given away off and on all morning. Who knows you might win a free bucket of berries, a free jar of preserves (your choice), a blueberry cookbook or a gift basket full of stuff from Bailey’s Berry Patch.
Our vendors will start setting up on June 14th and I know that you will enjoy them. Faye and Larry will have fresh vegetable every day for you to buy and take home with you. Teresa is here again waiting to paint the children’s’ faces with dogs, cats, baseballs and butterflies.
We will have popcorn, ice cream and blueberry lemonade for your enjoyment every day.
 Don’t forget, we HAVE NOT changed our u-pick berry prices. We are having to charge $1 per cup of catfish food. Our costs for the fish food has almost doubled….just ask one of us to get a cup or two for your children.
Everyone seems pleased that we are not opening until 8 a.m. beginning this year. Pearce and I want to thank you since it’s a treat to eat breakfast together.
 I have 2 wonderful recipes for you this time. Both are a little different and I know that you will want to try them. One recipe is for a Blueberry & Sausage Bake and the other one is for Blue and White Cornbread. The recipe calls for white cornmeal. I am from the south so you will never find white cornmeal in my cupboard – only yellow cornmeal. Maybe the recipe should be called Blue and Yellow Cornbread. (Click 'Lady Chef' for recipes.)
Have a fun week and come see us when you can. Tell others about us and send this newsletter to everyone you think might enjoy it.
Hugs for now….
Ann Bailey
The Berry Lady
PS – Remind your friends that, when they register for the newsletter, they will need to respond to the confirmation in order to really be registered. I have also received about a dozen notices that the confirmation was not deliverable. All I can think of is that, when someone was typing in their e-mail address, they made a typo. If someone says that they registered and did not get this newsletter, tell them to register again.
PPS - Brian Smith, our realtor from Country Connections/Ellen Terry Realtors, has several people who want to look at the farm. He has scheduled an open house here on Saturday, June 14th from 9 a.m. to noon. If you know someone who might be interested in buying Bailey’s Berry Patch, please tell them that this would be a good time to take the grand tour!
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