Then the last Sunday in June, Jewel and Henry brought Jay raspberry and strawberry picking while Brian and I escaped to play nine holes of golf (thanks sooo much Jewel and Henry!).
Here they are on the truck to take them to the picking spot. The truck ride is one of Jaydon's favorite things to do at Rose's Berry Farm. It was the perfect way to send Jay off, so Brian and I could make a smooth getaway.
Time for a closeup...
Before the picking we all enjoyed Rose's Breakfast with a View.
The day started out much chillier than any of us expected (note the jackets). I think there may have been a few sprinkles, too.
Eventually it warmed up. Then it felt downright muggy. But that didn't spoil the fun. This weather is so goofy! Oh, yeah, Henry is goofy, too!
Finally on to blueberries...Jay and I returned to Rose's Berry Farm today for our first round of blueberries this summer! Yum! For so many reasons, it turned out to be such a wonderful outing. First, it was Thursday afternoon and dark clouds loomed overhead. We gambled with the weather and it paid off. Not a single drop of rain fell and the temperature was just right...not too hot with a nice cool breeze. The combination of sketchy weather and a weekday meant that there were very few people picking with us. Consequently, we didn't feel crowded or closed in, as can be the case if you go on the weekends. We had plenty of space to move around, and it almost felt like we had the whole place to ourselves.
Second, as I mentioned above, the truck ride at Rose's Berry Farm is a favorite for Jay, so even though we could see the picking location for the day (it was maybe 200 yards up a little hill from where we were standing), we waited for the truck to pick us up anyways. We were the only ones to get on board. I felt compelled to tell the driver, "We know the picking spot is an easy walking distance from here, but when you come to Rose's, you have to ride the truck. It's part of the FUN". Lucky for us, the driver (a smiley teen-aged looking kid), couldn't agree more. He asked us if we wanted to take an extended drive to our picking spot, and Jaydon and I happily said, "yes"! We got a personal tour of the farm. "There's the pond where we pump water from...there's some Christmas Trees growing over there...there's a great big pile of mulch...there's some blueberries...and more blueberries...and more blueberries". Okay, so it wasn't as romantic as it sounds, but it was fantastic! We got to take a similar ride when we were done picking blueberries, and were once again the only two passengers on board. Here's Jay on the ride out.
Third, we made a last minute decision to go, so it was just Jay and I. We both love hanging out with our friends, but without the distraction of anyone else, Jay and I were able to simply enjoy each other, doing something that I believe we both equally love doing...picking (and eating) blueberries. We happily picked side by side and talked about the taste, the feel, the look of the blueberries and whatever else happened to cross our minds.
Fourth, when we've gone blueberry picking in previous years, the bushes were bursting with nothing but ripe blueberries...not a green berry to be found. Today, ripe blueberries were mixed with green ones, so the pace of our picking was much more relaxed than ever and more deliberate. It made it all the more relaxing over all. 
Some of the blueberries were tart and some were sweet. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason for picking the sweet ones. In one cluster, you could find a big plump one that was sweet and one that was sour. In the same bunch, we'd find a tiny one that was sweet and one that was sour. Here's Jay at work...
and here's our blueberry harvest - all 3 1/2 pounds of it!
Two other great things about Rose's: (1) there's a brook to throw rocks into (hours of fun for a three-year-old) and (2) there's a playground, much of which has huge rubber tires to play on. We had to stop at the playground and throw some rocks before we left.
One thing was missing today, otherwise it would have been perfect. That was Brian. We'll bring him next time and plan on coming home with three times as many blueberries (at least)!
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