A Happy (?) Family Outing

I {heart} blueberries.
I {heart} Patriot blueberries.
I especially {heart} blueberry picking and even more so when it is for the Patriot blueberries!

Every year, this is one family tradition that I completely look forward to. I love the time together. I love the wide open orchard and sounds of nature. I love selecting and tasting the different varieties of berries. I love the plink-plink from berries dropping in the pails. So, come hell or high water, I want to go blueberry picking! Well this year proved to give us both - a bit of hell and some high water!

N was dealing with swimmer's ear and a middle ear infection, J also had swimmer's ear, and M just liked to play the role of little sister ("annoying", as her big brothers would say). However, this was the week that Patriots were ready for picking and the weatherman said that the rain would hold out until the afternoon. So I threw the ear drops and pain meds in my purse and we headed up to my favorite perfect orchard about 45 minutes away. Fingers crossed for a happy family outing.

We noticed that the closer we got to the orchard, the darker the sky became. Uh, not a good sign! We arrived, but...within 10 minutes it started sprinkling. Within 15 minutes it was a full out downpour! Excuse Me?! What happened to "no rain until this afternoon"??? *sigh* Fortunately, Ken packed a few umbrellas for the kids. Few = three. THREE umbrellas (we have 4 kids). Uh huh. Now I was REALLY crossing my fingers for a semi happy family outing.

No matter; we were there, already soaked, the bushes were filled with oodles of yummy berries begging to be picked...so I did. Fifteen pounds worth of berries - enough for us and some to share with the neighbors - not bad for a quick pick in pouring rain. :-) At least I was happy!