Camp Mom: Week 3

It’s that time of year again, friends!  Time to go blueberry picking at Bailey’s Berry Patch!  This year, we invited our scout friends to join us for a day of “berry” delicious fun!

We loaded up the car with kids, coolers, and cold water bottles, slathered on the sunscreen, and made the hour-long trek to just shy of Oklahoma where the blueberries and blackberries are.  There was certainly a lot of excitement, which is saying a lot since the outside temperature would reach over 100 degrees before all was said and done.  We arrived, picked up our buckets, and began the quest to fill our pails with luscious ripe blueberries.

Except for one slight problem.  Our overly-wet weather and late cold snaps in the spring had delayed the full-bloom of the blueberries about a week.  The pickin’s were definitely slim compared to years past.  We did manage to find some bushes yielding lots of berries, but despite our best efforts, our buckets took a long time to fill.

So what did we do?  We had lunch and regrouped.  It’s always easier to think more clearly in the shade, sitting down, in front of a great big fan.

6-30-09 Crisana and Derin at lunch (r)

After lunch, since the natives were restless and tired of picking blueberries, we decided to head over to the blackberry patch.  Because the blackberry bushes have thorns, we were given special sticks to use to pull the branches down for picking.

6-30-09 Crisana picks blackberries (r)

And we made a discovery: what was bad for the blueberries was wonderful for the blackberries!  Loads of near-to-bursting blackberries, fat and ripe on the branch, ready to be picked.  Look carefully at this picture and you’ll see what I mean.  Or, you can click on it to enlarge.

6-30-09 Crisana with her blackberry stick (r)

We made another discovery, too.  Unknown to me, my dear friend Christin, who usually makes this trip with me, had come out to pick berries on the EXACT SAME DAY!!  We met up at the pavilion and headed out to the back areas where we could pick blackberries and blueberries together.

6-30-09 Crisana and Berkeley (r)

Crisana and Berkley even wore matching colors, with red tops and white shorts!

6-30-09 Crisana and Berkeley pick together (r)

By the time we left, we had gathered about 3/4 gallon of blueberries and a few pints of blackberries.  We watched as they cleaned and bagged the delicious fruit and of course I had to make the obligatory stop at the country store to pick up jars of their preserves and stuffed olives (that Matt absolutely loves) before the long, hot drive home.  Unfortunately, one of the scouts, in a bad combination of overheated, underhydrated, and overstuffed with lunch, managed to get sick IN MY CAR on the way home…making a rather unpleasant end to what had been a fun day.  Thanks to scotch-guard on the carpet and leather seats, I was able to get the mess – and stench – removed fairly easily once we got home.  And now we have a great memory we won’t soon forget.

That, and a whole drawer full of yummy ripe berries to eat.