More About Cranberry Harvest

I mentioned yesterday that we're 50% done with harvest.  Yeah!  When the end is in sight, everyone pushes a little bit harder, works a little bit longer, and smiles a little more often.

My October folder of pictures is brimming to overflowing so it's about time I unload a pile of them here on the blog.

My attempt at showing the family farm side of cranberry harvest in Wisconsin.

These pictures are in order of how I took them last week; I'll give a brief explanation if needed.

First truck loaded.

Sam and Stephen figuring out the trash trailer.  Now a full week in, I bet they can't believe they ever struggled with hooking it up.

Floating cranberries - almost flooded enough for booming.

Uncle Dan and the little boys.  This is what my farm boys wait for all year, a chance at hanging out, up high on the dump truck with Uncle Dan.

The beginning of the berry cleaner.  Cranberries are forced to the cleaner by water pressure and the tightening boom.  The green paddles grab the berries and carry them to the pressure washer.

Fruit moving through the pressure washer - the leaves are getting washed away.  From here they are elevated into the dump truck.

In the foreground - berries floating
In the background - the flood is coming up and pipe is being pulled

Looking on - assessing the situation

Like father, like son - looking on, assessing the situation.

And yet another bed of floating fruit.  I guess 20 years worth of cranberry harvest pictures isn't enough.

Notice the almost black cranberries.  These are Hyreds.

And here we have the variety Stevens, and next year's bud already.

Joseph keeping track of harvest from high up on the dump truck.

Taking the trash trailer to the next bed.  Harvesting cranberries creates a huge amount of leaf trash.

Unloading the trash trailer with a 4 year old helper.

If bugs aren't your thing, stay away.  Tons of beetles, tons of spiders.

The crew raking trash.  The leaves float/are blown into the edges of the cranberry bed.  Then the crew rakes the trash into piles on the dike.

Oops!  Peter got in the way.

Somehow an extra rake surfaced.  Amber demanded I help out instead of taking pictures, which gave her the opportunity to take nearly 50 pictures of me raking trash.

Here's one for Instagram.  Shoe pic : )

Never too old or too much a boss to get out of pulling pipe.  He does it all.

More trash to haul away.

After the first few beautiful days, we ended up with a cold and rainy day.  But, that's enough for now.
You just experienced your first cranberry marsh tour from the comfort of your home.  I hope you enjoyed your visit as much as I enjoyed sharing it with you.

Have a blessed day.