Blueberry Hill

One day, little Cassie, big boy Shane and young adult Jenna went with their mother to blueberry hill to pick blueberries.
They each brought along their little tin pail, while mother had her big tin pail to put berries in. 
"We will take our berries home to freeze them," said the mother 
"Then we will have food for the winter."
It was early in the day and the breeze was gentle. The children ran and frolicked amongst the blueberry bushes looking for full, ripened and sweet berries.
" Only the best for my Mommy" said Cassie. She found a bush and ran her fingers gently over the leaves and berries. She called to mother, "Thank you for bringing us today!"
As the children began picking berries Jenna found great delight at the sound of the berries hitting the bottom of the pail. She sang a little song as she busily picked only the best berries.
Shane found a corner of the farm to begin his picking. He was determined to fill his bucket several times for mother and he worked quickly as he whistled a lovely tune. 


Just kidding...none of my kids frolic, Jenna does not show signs of " great delight" unless there is a plate of food in front of her, Shane can not even whistle and Cassie...well some of this dialogue might actually work for Cassie.
We left the other morning to pick blueberries in St. Clair county.  We fell out of bed at 6 a.m. and got in the car sleepily. I checked the temperature reading to see if we were heading into searing heat but really was surprised when the car read out said it was a mild 70 degrees. 
Cassie remembered a sweet children's book I read to her when she was young, called " Blueberries for Sal" I recalled it too. A young girl with a tin pail eating among the bushes and a baby bear and a mama bear join them.  Jenna said very little from the front seat and mostly cuddled with the blanket she remained wrapped in til we arrived at " Huckleberry Hollow" Farm. 
As we picked I began to notice that some of the bushes had japanese beetles. We began talking a little. Jenna began to look more awake...sort of. Shane was determined to pick a lot of berries but stayed close by. 
At one point Cassie discovered a daddy-long-leg spider and she and Jenna got completely grossed out. I grabbed her bucket, gave her mine and tossed the spider out by one of his legs. The realization of bugs slowed Jenna down considerably. She no longer wanted to reach in to the limbs in fear of any bugs. She wandered aimlessly down the rows to look for the berries that hung on the outer edges. We all made fun of her being afraid of bugs and her lame excuse for her poor picking performance. Jenna brought up the "Blueberries for Sal" book and said it did not represent the true picture of blueberry picking because it failed to mention bugs. Cassie followed behind Jenna laughing at the report of finding two Japanese beetles mating...again not covered in the book.
Cassie bragged about her new bucket being full...no credit that she had just taken my bucket.
Shane worked with a focus and he and I had fun laughing and talking to each other while we picked. Periodically he would check to see if he was ahead of me. He was and finished the morning with the most blueberries. 
Our day didn't read like a children's book; it was better than that as we drove home and sang loud to the radio. All of us agreed it was so much fun and something we will do again. 


"Blueberries for All"