Blueberry Picking...

Saturday - July 26th
One of my favorite things about Connecticut is berry picking in the summer. Blueberries are the best to pick. They are so easy and tasty. In the past I haven't really been a blueberry fan, but we have found that blueberries from the orchard, frozen, are great in shakes. It is subtle, but it rounds out the flavor of a fruit shake. During the summer we make shakes at least once a week, sometimes more. Our kids beg for them often. Since fruit is healthy and the kids don't seem to mind the flax seeds and protein complex we add in, I don't mind serving them shakes often. As they get older, or as we have more children, we are going to have to start making two blenders worth each time.

Isabelle and Miriam did a fantastic job picking the "blue" berries and not the purple unripe berries this year, unlike last year. They loved it.

David had a lot of fun as well. Last year he sat and ate what everyone else was picking nonstop the entire time. I'm sure you can imagine his diapers over the next few days. Luckily, now that he is old enough to do his own picking, he couldn't go through nearly as many blueberries since it took him longer to pick his own. I was so glad since we have enough problems with his diapers (he has been having awful diarrhea for several weeks now, but the doctor said 2-yr olds often go through this stage).

Emily decided she wanted to get in on the action as well this time.

This particular orchard has their blueberries covered, though not all orchards do. I guess it depends on the variety of blueberry.

We love this orchard in part because they also sell freshly made ice cream. It is so nice to sit as a family and eat ice cream after an hour or so of labor. They also had a golden retriever. Again, Isabelle and David loved playing with the dog while Miriam sat on top of the table so the dog couldn't get to her. The dog had a stick and a gunney sack. She loved playing tug of war and even Jonathan and I got into the game. Sorry, no pics, just videos which I haven't figured out how to show here yet. David decided he didn't like the dog taking the stick or the sack so he would cry when the dog took one of them and then when the dog got distracted with the other, he would hide it. He was quite creative in his hiding too... across the building, into the greenhouse, and up on a table. It was hilarious to watch.