Blueberry Picking

Keith & I live down the road from a blueberry farm, and each summer, my sister, mom, and I go blueberry picking together. We could just buy them, already picked, for not much more than what we pay to pick our own. But what fun would that be?

I don’t think we do it for the joy of working outside for two hours on a 90 degree day. Nor is it for the joy of getting smacked by the branches as we push a stroller down the narrow pathways between the bushes.

It’s for the fun of spending time together, and for popping a few berries in our mouths along the way. (Seriously, they should probably weigh Alex when we get there and when we leave, and I’ll pay the difference!) It’s for the fun of watching Deb get every. single. berry. on the bush! ;) It’s for the fun of going out to lunch together afterwards.

This year, it was extra hot! Emma came along, as she often does, and she picked almost as many blueberries as the grown-ups. Good job, Em!

My dying camera decided it needed new batteries, so Deb used her phone to get the pictures in this post. Thanks, Deb! I wish I’d thought to grab your camera and get a few pictures with you in them, too!

Max was pretty content to sit in the stroller and watch for quite a while. Deb kept him entertained as she picked. When he got bored with that, we held him while picking. I tried setting him on the ground, but that just led to a lot of grass-eating. I think Grandma held him for a while, too. Eventually, I took a break and brought him to the a/c in the car for a few minutes while he nursed, and that helped cheer him up for a while.

See? Grandma S is in this picture…proof she was there! ;)

Alex picked blueberries, ate blueberries, played in the dirt, and ate more blueberries. He at least picked enough berries to cover the bottom of the bucket, and (with a little help from Emma) he did a fairly good job of picking the ripe berries.

Emma showed Alex how to throw a blueberry in the air and catch it in her mouth. He cheated, pretended to throw it in the air, and then smacked it into his mouth.

Emma also took Alex over to the swings for a little while after he decided (with a few little hints from Emma) that it was getting hot and boring. Thanks, Em, for keeping Alex busy!

I think Aunt Deb was aiming for the perfect picture of Max, because she sent me quite a few! ;)

Afterwards, everyone stopped at our house to get cleaned up. We headed to the Chocolate Shop for a yummy lunch. Thanks, Grandma, for spoiling us with that! I think my boys enjoyed those sweet potato fries!

And now, I imagine, a lot of blueberry eating is going on in all of our homes! I only took home about 4.75 lbs of berries this year, and about half of it went in the freezer. The other half is slowly being consumed by Alex and Mama! I’m hoping to pick up a graham cracker crust tomorrow to make the best blueberry pie ever…Blueberry Sky Pie! Mmmm, my mouth is watering!

(Hey, while it’s on my mind, who wants to go apple picking this fall? Every year, I say I’ll do it, and every year, fall comes and goes without any apple picking. Anyone want to start a new tradition?!)