Berry Good Friends

Our favorite u-pick farm announced today (via Facebook – sometimes I just adore the internet) that strawberry picking had just begun.

Since Emily was at a rehearsal for the play, Nate and Anna were eager to get out somewhere – ANYwhere – so Leigh bravely agreed to go berry picking with us even though she’s dreadfully allergic.

We started the trip with a yummy lunch on the porch – you can’t beat an open-face grilled ham-apple-and-cheese on 8-grain bread!  The kids chatted and played and had fun with the farm dog.

Next a drive across the road to the berry patch and there we dove into the deliciousness that is perfectly ripe strawberries, still warm from the sun.  Leigh stood back and watched us, and took plenty of pictures.  (She wound up with only a few small areas of itching blisters, not terrible for an expedition into a field of deathberries.)

Anna especially enjoyed the chance to pick and munch on the fruit that’s banned from their house.

The boys picked lots of berries too.  KarateKid was especially proud of picking about 2 lbs. by himself.  But even as they picked, their long, rambling, no-dice-or-paper RPG continued.  Looking at this picture I can just hear them.  “Okay, so you’re down to twenty-one soldiers.  The evil wizard circles around the mountain to attack you from behind…”

Even though the kids look strained at trying to produce happy faces on command, I had to include this picture because I’m almost never the one in FRONT of the camera.  Don’t you love my fashion sense?  Bright blue and maroon together… phew.  But at least it kept the sun out of my eyes.

It’s only fair, then, to include a picture of Leigh, behind the camera and braving a field of danger!

This is my berry good girl.  Oh, did she have a marvelous time.  Absolutely like Sal – kuplink, kuplank, kuplunk! She’d pick one strawberry, then eat one.  Then eat two out of my bucket.  Then pick one and eat it.  Then eat another one out of my bucket.  Then pick one more to drop in her bucket.  For the record, she’s posing with my bucket here, not hers!

We had a wonderful time and wound up with about 6 lbs. of berries – for now.  I’m sure we’ll be back!  We ended our visit with a stop by the goat/donkey/sheep pen, where the kids fed the animals and played on a huge dirt pile.  There were other excitements today (including the discovery of a long-lost animal) but I’ll leave those stories for another time.