A Berry Good Time

The yellow tiger lilies are in bloom.

But that's not the best photo of the week.

That would be this one, of me picking blueberries with granddaughters, ages 3 1/2, 4, and 8 1/2. (Those 1/2s are important!)

Grandpa took them out to turn over rocks, looking for snakes. They found one all right -- a copperhead hiding under the tarp covering a pile of compost at the edge of the woods. It quickly slithered back under the tarp, while Grandpa did a jig to stay out of its way. The next morning, they went looking again and found the same snake, this time burrowed into the loose compost. The girls kept a respectful distance, but watched with fascination as Grandpa coaxed the snake from hiding, using a long stick.

The copperhead graciously showed itself, sliding slowly away and back into the woods (sorry, no photos). I will have to be extra careful when digging into those piles of compost stuck at the edge of the woods too keep them out of the way, yet close to the various areas where we use them.

As thrilling as the snake hunt was, the highlight of the sleepover seemed to be the treasure hunt in the berry patches. We warmed them up by picking blueberries (no prickles or thorns), while I tried to instruct them as to how to tell when a berry is ripe. First, ask if the berry is ripe before you pick it.

Then we moved on to the red raspberries (a few prickles, but not enough to ward off eager young girls). Then we all (all except Grandpa, who served as driver) hopped into the pickup bed for a ride down the hill to pick black raspberries. A bit more thorny, but some berries make themselves easy to get to. I had picked through the black raspberries the day before, but we still found a few rich, black and sweet berries to put in our basket.

I love picking berries on summer days. I love it even more with three granddaughters in tow.

Life is rich and sweet as the black raspberries in my breakfast bowl.