Is This a Big One Mommy?To celebrate the start of summer, our whole family headed out to pick blueberries. There is a blueberry patch no more than a mile from our house. I learned about the blueberry patch a little late last summer, so Edmund and I got in one small picking before the season ended. Since about February, every time we pass the blueberry patch Edmund says, "are the blueberries ready yet?" Last week I finally spotted a sign that let us know the blue
berries were indeed ready. When I told Edmund we would have to wait until Saturday to pick blueberries, the question became "is it Saturday yet?" This question, although constant, was also a great way to introduce the days of the week. This morning when Edmund said "is it Saturday yet?" we had to let him know that "yes it was, but it was not 7:30 yet." I'm sure you can guess what the next question was, and so began our lesson in telling time. After all that waiting, the big moment arrived. Fortunately, Edmund's second blueberry experience exceeded expectations.It is still early in the season, but there were a fair number of ripe blueberries. Edmund got a special, kid-sized pail. We explained that we only pick the "blue" berries and set Edmund free. He immediately started dropping blueberries into his pail. As he did so he said, "kuplink, kuplank, kuplunk," and informed us he was Sal from Blueberries for Sal. However, he was quick to assure Steven and I that we wouldn't meet any bears on our excursion, just some chickens.
The picking continued famously. Surprisingly Edmund only put one unripe blueberry in the basket, and even asked me when he wasn't sure if he had a "blue" berry. I commented on the humor in this, as even I at times find it hard to distinguish a
n unripe blueberry from a ripe one. If you'll recall we came home with a lot of green strawberries, and the ripe ones are pretty distinct. Perhaps Edmund is older and wiser now, after his experience with those bitter strawberries.We picked blueberries for about thirty minutes before calling it quits. Other families had bucket loads of berries, but as a family we don't consume much. We decided it best to eat some, make a few recipes, and use them all up. We had such a great time, we plan to return next week, and may even come home with a pile of blackberries too.
