…and all the Big Mill Bed & Breakfast guests can be certain they will feast on "just picked" strawberries in the months of April, May and June. We have two U-Pick Strawberry fields here in Martin County and our local produce is the best. Folks say berries from different fields have different flavors, and I believe them.

At the Berry Patch in Robersonville you can buy local grown cabbages, onions, cucumbers, melons, tomatoes, peas, potatoes and corn.  And you can get just-made strawberry jam.

Shirley is going on her eleventh year at the Berry Patch…I only see her in the strawberry season, but that can be at least several times a week. The berries are so luscious, I can’t resist picking more than I need. Vivian, Shirley and Carleen are also familiar faces at the Berry Patch.

At the fields you pick (and eat) berries, weigh them and off you go with quarts of ripe red fruit. Then you must decide what to do with all these pounds of berries that you picked. 

I make strawberry jam for our Big Mill B&B guests. Don’t think I’m bragging (much!), but this is an award-winning strawberry jam recipe!  It won best-of-show at our Farm Heritage Fair.  It is wonderful.

When I was growing up, we would pick the berries, make jam and – on the very same night — we ate homemade biscuits with jam and homemade butter.

Growing your own and buying local is a growing trend — and a good one. All around us there are many farmer’s markets, vegetable stands and local folks selling their produce. We even have vendors who sell collards out of a pick up truck. We need to support them all. You can find a list of farmers in your area at Local Harvest and at North Carolina Farm Fresh. 

I will be posting some guest articles on The Bountiful Kitchen – Inn Cuisine.  The article with my recipe for Chloe’s Strawberry Jam is just the first in a series of eating local, sustainable foods.  

Plan to Visit: The Berry Patch in Robersonville, NC 252-795-4903 and Berry Tyme Farm in Jamesville, NC 252-792-6916. This year, there is a new J & J Farm Produce in Martin County near Jamesville 252-799-8110. They are not a You-Pick farm, but they do sell strawberries, cabbage, potatoes, May peas, corn and asparagus.              

The Message of Easter began as a vision of E.T. Taylor, a childhood friend of mine. It has grown and some nights thousands of folks attend, coming from all over.  

E.T. was no novice to outdoor drama, having played Governor Eden in Blackbeard, Knight of the Black Flag, in historic Bath, N.C, a few moons ago in the seventies.

E.T. Taylor and Chloe

We sailed 10 miles on the Pamlico River to see E.T. in this performance; the return sail was under a gorgeous full moon.

In its first few years The Message of Easter was performed on the lawn. Now visitors enjoy the performances in a large outdoor theater that seats 3,000 folks with special lighting, surround sound and ample parking. And all this is offered at no charge.

Church members do it all: acting, set design, lighting, costumes, parking and everything in between. Some folks have never missed a performance.

Thirty years ago E.T. chose Jimmy Griffin to play Jesus, and Jimmy is still fulfilling that promise. Leslie Hardison is the only man to ever play Peter. 

Billy Peel is a barber by trade; but every year for thirty years in the weeks before Easter he is Pontius Pilot. Billy was my first boyfriend: I was two, he was three. His wife Betty Jo is tired of hearing us talk about it; I don't blame her. And for thirty years she has been Pilot's wife.

Williamston is a small town, not unlike Mayberry, and I call many of the folks at Piney Grove, "Cousin."  Imagine for a moment that the good folks of Mayberry presented an outdoor drama. You can be sure they would be sincere, the drama would be first class and the community would be involved. That's what happens in Farm Life in the weeks leading up to Easter. Everyone works together and works hard and everyone is welcome.

This year's drama will be March 26, 27 and 28 and March 31 through April 4, 2010. For information about the Message of Easter call 252-792-2954. Remember early spring can be chilly. If our Big Mill B&B guests attend the Easter drama, we send them off with cushions and blankets.

If you've ever attended an Easter season outdoor drama, do leave a comment below.  I'd love to hear your stories.

Dedicated to the memory of E.T. Taylor, a friend to many.