Not far north of Emmons, in Twin Lakes, a few men with worn fingers hover around a sweet-smelling field. Some search for ripe strawberries; others work to make the garden more conducive to growth.

They’ve found that this year hasn’t been as good for strawberries as others.

&uot;We do have some,&uot; Harry Gavley, owner of Twin Lakes Gardens, a strawberry farm, said. &uot;But a late frost pretty much killed off most of our crop.&uot;

Gavley’s crop is well known throughout Freeborn County. He said he decided not to advertise this year, but still, each day, he gets customers.

The strawberry field is a hobby for Gavley, so the slowdown in business doesn’t hurt his financial stability.

&uot;It keeps me out of mischief,&uot; Gavley said. &uot;I’ve been doing this since I retired 15 years ago.&uot;

Gavley’s fields are picked over by many each summer, he said. Customers old and new pull their cars up his dusty gravel driveway every June to begin the strawberry season.

&uot;It’s a good strawberry patch, but we just had a bad year,&uot; he said.

One of the annual customers, Lloyd Bottelson, of Albert Lea, was determined to get some berries this year, no matter how hard he had to look.

&uot;I’ve looked for a long time for these here,&uot; he said, pointing to a handled basket nearly filled to the top with six quarts of strawberries. &uot;I love ’em. I wouldn’t be out here with a sore back if I didn’t think they were great.&uot;

Bottelson has been coming to Twin Lakes Gardens for the last three years, but said he has been picking strawberries as long as he can remember.

&uot;It’s kind of a family tradition,&uot; he said. He travels down to Clear Lake, Iowa most summers to pick at a large patch he knows.

Bottelson’s wife makes a jam out of the berries, but he also said many get eaten before getting crushed.

At the other public strawberry patch in Freeborn County, Farmer John’s near Lansing, the crops weren’t up to par this year.

Owner John Ulland thought he would have more fruit than he could get rid of this year. He had planted a lot more than usual. As it turns out, though, he needed every one of those plants.

&uot;It was too cool early, and then it was too dry,&uot; Ulland said.

Like Gavley, Ulland’s farm has still been frequented for strawberries. He closed out the season a few weeks ago.

Ken Westrum, Gavley’s self-proclaimed chief weed puller and hoer, says that he expects Gavley’s next crop to yield many more.

&uot;Weather permitting, we should have about two-and-a-half acres,&uot; he said. &uot;It was just a tough year this year.&uot;