Picked

Time to myself in the blueberry field this morning.



A very rare occurrence.

The picking was really easy, and after about an hour and a half I walked out of the field with 18 pounds.  A strong start to the season compared to the last two years when Lake's baby-hood squelched my chances of bringing in the volume we needed to last us through the next Spring.



I recall a story I heard in the fields last year of a couple who annually place an order for hundreds of pounds of blueberries because they eat a cup each every night.  I believe Jeff and I would approach this if we could just pick enough.  A nightly bowl of frozen berries, almonds and chocolate chips is routine.





It's funny what you overhear in the berry patch when you're there without a friend or someone or two to keep an eye on.  Conversations about weight loss, hemorrhoids, midwifery, Portland as a mecca for lesbians, someone studying the relationship between creativity, cleanliness, and sanity; unless you're silent, there's just no way to avoid being overheard in the field.

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Lake is with Gramma C on Tuesday mornings, and for the next two weeks Calder is at Theater Camp.  I know.  I was not expecting that either.  If you know Calder, you will understand how cool and unusual this choice of camp is.  A camp that asks for full participation, willingness to step out of your comfort zone, being goofy and physical in front of a bunch of friends and strangers... not his typical way to spend time.  But, he has a ton of friends with him, which I think makes it way easier, and I actually believe that his hurdles to feeling comfortable in this environment are short and very obvious.  Plus, I was speaking to one of his counselors yesterday about theater being an alternate reality to our everyday, and that there's a good chance Calder, over time, will really embrace the stage as a place of freedom from his real world fears, discomforts and concerns.  Two intensive weeks of this will surely tell us something about that.  And what a way to test my readiness for Kindergarten in September?  Yesterday was my first time packing a lunch and snacks and getting out the door by 7:45.  The timing all worked out, but most of the lunch came home untouched.  Pretty typical for an almost 6 year old, I bet.

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Back in the kitchen, there's four cookie sheets of berries in the freezer and more on the counter waiting to go in. I told Jeff about the 18 pounds and his response was, "That's it?"  Yes.  But there will be more.  Much more.  Especially if we can find a time to go out to the fields together.  Our long winter nights depend on it.