Eight Pounds

Yesterday we had all things blueberry on the mind. The succulent berries are ripe here, so we set off for Eagletree Farms in Leesburg, VA for some berry picking. We went with several homeschooling friends, which was such a nice treat. The weather was beautiful when we arrived. Huge clouds peppered the sky, and the sun was shining. With a cool breeze the kiddos scattered throughout the rows swinging sand buckets as they went. They were determined to fill their buckets. Benton stayed closer to me, and we worked together picking both the top and bottom of bushes to fill his bucket. Eamon returned after a bit with an almost full bucket. Aine soon abandoned hers to run around with friends.

We kept picking until the bellies startled to rumble and the complaints of being warm and tired became too much. Retreating to the shade near a pond on the property we ate lunch. The kiddos played games, threw rocks into the pond and had a blast. I returned to pick a few more berries for another mom as the kiddos pulled each other in wagons up and down the rows while others ran around the property. No one wanted to leave, but leave we had to.

As I packed up our eight pounds of berries, stowed our lunch and buckets in the car and buckled Benton into his seat, Aine continued climbing and running around with a couple of the kids. I was startled from my work and chatting by her screams. She was running toward me. She had been stung by a bee. With much crying due to the pain, we said our goodbyes to our friends.

The drive home was long due to a bit of traffic. Benton fell asleep. Aine's lip began to feel better, but she continued to marvel at the fact that she had not been antagonizing the bee and it still stung her. We finished listening to The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling and quickly moved on to the second in the series, The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book II: The Hidden Gallery. Everyone awake in the car really enjoys the story about the three incorrigibles. As we sat in traffic at one point, I noticed the flowers in the median. I grabbed my camera and took a photo. Such beauty to end a wonder filled day.