Strawberries for Edmund

Strawberry Picker Hard at Work

Clearly I haven't made good on my promise of lots of posts as there wasn't a single post in April. Steven was on a difficult rotation and I use my free time as an opportunity to write. Unfortunately I was sick, sick, sick from the end of March until the beginning of this week, which meant most of my time was spent in bed. The whole family got this last illness and I'm truly hoping it's the last as we move into warmer weather.

Yesterday we were all feeling well enough, Steven just barely, to go strawberry picking at Jean's Berry Patch. Steven and I went berry picking here shortly before we got married and hadn't gotten back. It seemed so far away when we lived in Carrboro, but it's just a hop, skip, and a jump from where we now live in Durham.

Steven made the mistake of asking Edmund if he wanted to go strawberry picking. Of course he got the typical two year old response..."NO." Edmund has been very into the story "Blueberries for Sal" as of late and I coaxed him into the car with the promise of his very own bucket just like Sal. That did the trick, and we were off.

Jean's Berry Patch is very large and well organized. We got our very own row of berries from which to pick and Edmund got his own bucket. There were so many red, juicy berries to choose from. Edmund ate many of his pickings right off the plant. His hands were a bright red by the time we finished. Mommy and daddy quickly filled their bucket with big strawberries, but Edmund's bucket was much more shallow with many a small, unripe berry to be found. He discovered when we got home the green berries were not to his liking and decided to partake of mommy and daddy's pickings instead. We had warned him about the green ones, but were sympathetic and shared our slightly more appetizing red berries with him anyway.

Edmund loved strawberry picking and didn't want to leave. We could have stayed much longer, but since we leave for vacation next week we didn't want to get too many berries. Fortunately for Edmund the fun didn't end too soon. While daddy was paying for our berries Edmund and I discovered a small play area. There were two small handmade see-saws. Due to safety issues you don't see many of them anymore, but I still think it's a childhood right of passage. Edmund got to try out his first see-saw with mommy. Don't worry, I didn't catapult him into the berry patch. After his see-saw ride, Edmund couldn't get enough of the sandbox and sand toys. We lured him away by promising him time in the sandbox at home. Isn't it funny, however, that the home sandbox only held his interest for five minutes. Children are mysterious creatures.

Edmund's first strawberry picking adventure was a success. We know strawberry season is short, but Steven and I hope to fit in one more picking excursion before the season ends. And next time we know we'll have no trouble getting our fledgling berry picker to oblige.

It may be a couple of weeks, but be on the lookout for a post about Edmund's first trip to Disney World. We leave soon and are hoping we may get to see the shuttle launch as well.