Vacation In Review--part 3 Blueberries For Gals

A note of explanation… before I begin my narrative let me explain the “names” I use:
Country Sis is my eldest sister whom my family was visiting
Curly-Q is my middle sister
The Lady is Country Sis’s sister in law who lives across the road. When I call her “ The Lady” I am meaning it with all kindness and seriousness (and certainly not an austerity) . She is indeed a lady in the best and noblest of ways.

It was 7:00AM when we got the call from Country Sis that The Lady was going a-blueberry picking. Did we want to come? Did we ever! 45 minutes later Curly-Q, the Lady, and I were dragging the drift boat to the river bank that bordered the in-laws yard. After almost getting our heads and hands spun off by the incredibly fast whirling crank/reel that releases the boat from the trailer in to the water, we piled in and enjoyed a rather surreal ride to the opposite bank where the “U-Pick” blueberry field awaited us. There, up atop the incline, was the field owner’s house surrounded by trees, from which hung decapitated milk cartons with twine threaded through their handles. Following The Lady’s example, we made little “blueberry baskets” by tying the headless milk cartons around our waists with the twine. (This, I learned, was standard procedure for any passerby wishing to pick berries. One never had to bother the owners until it was time to pay.) Away we went to the farthest end of the blueberry rows and “plink, plink, plink,” we picked, picked, picked. Between mouthfuls of blueberries we discussed the whys and wherefores of our favorite books and movies, until we came the end of our 4th row and realized we had collected a grand total of 8 gallons! As we rowed back home through the deliciously cool water that sparkled with the summer sunshine, I felt like a thief, having paid only five dollars per gallon!

Once home we continued in domestic busyness by making 14 jars of blueberry pie filling as well as one (each) fresh blueberry and rhubarb pie. The fun and industry didn’t end here for almost as soon as we had finished the pie The Lady…but if I told that, it would make this post terribly long. No, that story must wait for tomorrow!