The Rankin Family: Blueberry Picking 2009!

Ainsley has been asking and asking, "When will it be spring?" "When will be going BLUEberry picking?" (I try to help with the pronunciation of blueberry, and she just corrects me and tells me how she says it, "No mom, it's BLUEberry." The fact that they are berries is an after thought, blue is her favorite color. (She's currently asking if we can move to a blue house when our house sells and if she can have a blue room. She also points out blue houses while we drive through neighborhoods.)

So today was the big day. We had to pick a cooler Tuesday, lest we all collapse from heat exhaustion. Plus, we had to go on the first day of picking (a Tuesday), before the Berry Patch got picked out. We walked a mile with our buckets to the open patches and began the hunt.

From The Rankin Family

I'm putting berries in at this point. This was the only picture exhibiting this task. By the end of picking (3 hours later, my kids are into this) I had just 5 berries in my bucket. Where do you suppose all of those berries went? Well, in my tummy of course, and boy were they good!

From The Rankin Family

(After about 40 minutes, I (Mom) walked back a mile with Andrew in the front carrier and Ainsley riding piggy-back. Bathroom break! I knew we wouldn't make it if I didn't do the pack-mom sprint. Upon returning to the patch I was armed not only with a stroller but also with a petite porta potty for Ainsley. Good thing, we used it again about an hour later. What a work out.)

I ditched my bucket after awhile and just put my berries in mom's. I felt way more productive that way and we couldn't tell how many I was eating either. So, instead of a bucket when I found some really full BLUEberry bushes, I just used my hat. Some of these berries did make it to the bucket. (I'm glad the Berry Patch actually states it's okay to eat while you are picking!)