By planting 1200 blueberry bushes I became a "blueberry farmer". Our 600 Reka, 300 Patriots and 300 Northland blueberry bushes did remarkably well their first year (in spite of my lack of weed control). We were not expecting many blueberries their first year after planting. But they surprised us. I've been picking blueberries for three weeks now and taking them to the market. But I found that I couldn't keep up with the picking. And so our dream of a Pick-Your-Own berry farm started before we thought it would.
But I am a hovering blueberry mother. The plants are still quite fragile and young. One needs to pick carefully and gently. So..... this young lady and her charming mother (who happens to be a terrific friend) came over the other day for blueberry picking. Her camera-shy mother picked alongside her beautiful ten year old daughter. They were careful, methodical, and fun to pick alongside with me. We enjoyed several hours of chatting and eating and picking.
I still have much weeding to do and there is about one to two more days of picking left. But the early blueberries have been a joy. The plants are showing great signs of new growth promising more blueberries for next year. We will definitely have more people over for picking. I have found that eight hours of picking in a day is exhausting... perhaps picking is for eager ten year olds.
Today's Journey Joy - friends who pick gently
