Here in Coastal Carolina, with our abundance of sandy soil, blueberry picking season is in full swing. My first year after moving to the island, I completely missed blueberry season in part because I had been accustomed to much later start dates along the Lake Michigan coast.
So, now well-familiar with the timing of the season, yesterday morning my daughter and I decided to go blueberry picking on our way to a birthday party. I’ve always wanted to do this with the small people, but the boys have never had any interest in picking berries, in part because they don’t eat berries. I’ve tried to entice them and failed miserably. My daughter, on the other hand, eats just about anything, and really likes berries. So she was jumping out of her seat, ready to go the moment I mentioned it.
As is often the case, a series of small things went slightly awry that morning, setting us behind on our schedule. Therefore, we were just going to pop into the blueberry patch for a few minutes, mainly to see it and make plans to return later.
However, once we got there, you would have thought my daughter ran the blueberry patch. Single-handedly. With precision and without hesitation, she selected a bush and began picking. I reminded her that we only had five minutes to pick, but it was as if I wasn’t there. Seriously, that girl was intent on her mission, and no one, not even the parental figure that stood as the bridge between her and the birthday pool party she had begged to attend, was going to interrupt her.
When she began picking, I tried to explain to her that the blue-colored blueberries were the desirable ones. She smiled patiently and followed the rule, at first. Then, she decided that the blue blueberries needed a few green and purple accents, for aesthetic reasons. There was no persuading her otherwise, because it was as if I wasn’t there.
Normally, this would have irritated me to no end, and we would have had words, so to speak. However, she really didn’t mean any disrespect to me with her attitude. She was just so completely absorbed in the moment, the way four-year-olds can sometimes be. She took to the whole experience the way my eldest took to riding a bike; there was no instruction, because he was clearly born to ride bikes like she was born to pick blueberries. I just didn’t want to interrupt the moment for her, so I let her run free with it for a while.
In the end, she had her way with the blueberries. Which was as it should be, because there are a finite number of experiences in life like that one was for her, and far be it from me to take one of those away from her. I’m just thankful that I was there to see it.
Just discovered you, and I’m loving your blog! When I was growing up, we vacationed in North Carolina for several summers, and your photos are taking me down memory lane! Also, I love etymology! Keep up the interesting and educational posts! 🙂
Thanks! I’m glad you like it! The beaches are great places to build family memories. And if you like etymology, it sounds like you’re my kind of girl. I look forward to reading your blog as well. Thanks for stopping by!
How fun. Way to let your girl do her thing. I am so jealous! I can not wait for blueberry season, which is late July/early August up here. Strawberries should be ready in a week or two. Raspberries sometime in July-ish. My boys love to pick just about any fruit that I put them in front of–but only one of my oldest 3 will eat them. Thankfully, the Baby is a big fan of all things fruit, so we’ve evened the score.
We end up with a lot of purplish-white blueberries because “they add a little color” to the bucket. Or so I am told.
You do have to wait longer for your fruits to be ready up your way, but you sure have a good selection to choose from when they are ready!
Ohhh—Blueberries are one thing we MISS here in Hawaii. My husband is crazy for them….we (sadly) buy them at Costco and he freezes bags and bags to munch on all winter…which usually lasts about a month and they are gone. 🙂 ENJOY for us!! We will be in the northwest this summer, but BEFORE blueberry season, so don’t think we’ll get any. How much fun that your season is early.
Take care—
Oh, I’m sorry you don’t get blueberries, but you sure do have so many other delicious fruits there that sound so exotic to the rest of us. I also love macadamian nuts, for instance, but what I really loved about Hawaii when I visited was how they managed to incorporate the nuts into so many dishes and sauces in ways that no one ever does around here. My parents have good friends that went to church with us for a while in Chicago before moving back to Hawaii. For years afterward, they sent my parents some variation of macadamian nuts every Christmas. My favorite were the chocolate-covered ones.