Berry Picking

Last week, a friend texted me about going berry picking one afternoon with the littles. 

At the beginning of the summer, I would have been all for it. One might even go so far as to say I was rarin' to go.  And then this summer kicked into high gear like a runaway Harley, 
leaving me hanging onto the tailpipe for dear life. 

So, I had serious doubts as to my energy level and general emotional state going into something that was sure to be a hot, crowded ordeal involving tears, fights, dipping into the college fund for concession-stand snacks and souvenirs, and ending with me curled in the fetal position under a blackberry bush somewhere. 

This adventure was none of those things. 
 In fact, it was EXACTLY the opposite type of experience
 I have come to expect from summer outings. 

We drove out to a little farm in Lebanon called Circle S Farms on an overcast afternoon.  Only one other parking spot was occupied in the gravel lot, and we got out and 

followed a sign that said, "Start Here." 

This sign says, "Hey, Y'all!"  Well, "Hey!" yourself

Why can't they ever look at the camera?  Why?!

The place was blessedly quiet, and unsettlingly peaceful.  Not a soul besides ourselves was in sight, and I got more than a little nervous about not having the safety of a herd to follow or a line to wait in.  The place is totally self-serve, so we popped our money in the lock box and chose our containers.  Some of us got a little overzealous and went for the big baskets with handles, but, when reminded that, "You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit," it was all good.

Armed with our equipment/baskets, we descended on the berry bushes like locusts.  

Really slow-moving, make-your-mom-do-all-the-work locusts. 

The kids had a good time determining the readiness of the berries for picking 

as they sampled the product along the way.

Good thing we didn't go for the jumbo basket.

Teamwork and show tunes made the work go quicker.

Just kidding. 

 I wish there had been show tunes...

Just a boy and the dog that owned the farm.

The kids chased a sweet little beagle-girl around the farm for awhile and named her Jewel. 

Then, it was time for some fossil-digging in this most awesome of sandboxes.

Then we did some see-sawing...

...and cattle-roping.

Almost got him!
 
We had such fun, we're already planning another trip out there.  

With this kind of haul, we were excited to figure out what we could make with all of that gorgeous fruit.  Sarah suggested a pie, but I don't bake unless you want something the consistency and flavor profile of a charcoal briquette. 

We decided on cobbler, because it's pretty hard to burn cobbler.  

Not impossible, but pretty hard.  

Because I'm lazy and I thought of a cool name for it, 

I just lumped all of the blueberries and blackberries together in the same dish.  

Without further ado, I give you...

Black and Blue Cobbler
  
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup self-rising flour
• 2 cups fresh blueberries and blackberries
• 1 cup of milk

1. Grease a 9 x 9 baking dish and set aside.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt the butter.
3. Mix the flour and sugar together thoroughly.  
4. Pour the milk and butter in your sugar/flour mixture and stir it up.
5. Rinse and drain your berries, then dump them in a bowl.  Sprinkle a few tablespoons of sugar over the berries and mix it all in. 
6. Pour the batter mixture into the baking dish, and then pour the berries and sugar on top. 
7. Bake for an hour (or so) and enjoy the yummy smells while you read a romance novel.
8. After it's all goldeny and gooey, take that bad boy out and pat yourself on the back for not burning it. 

This is why you HAVE to use self-rising flour.  Not very cobbler-looking, but it eats just as good. 

Firefly Relocation Program and a Bug Jar How-To

Here at the HOB, we have an outreach program for bugs, special sticks, and even pet rocks.  Normally, we keep the good work we do to ourselves, quietly providing meals, shelter, and, for the bugs, a crushing blow to the exoskeleton. 

We are committed to keeping these little balls of light as pets...

...whether they like it or not.

 Armed with nets and spaghetti jars, we take extra-long naps to make sure we're alert and ready to transport the unwitting and unwilling little buggers
 to their new temporary homes.  

In our home.

Yes, we love a bug hunt around here. 

But what we love most about  lightning bugs is their glowing hind-ends.  
Normally we clean out a spaghetti jar and catch away, 
but for Sarah's party, I wanted to do something special. 

I also wanted to give the bugs a break and the kids an incentive to release their prey.  

So, about 2 days before the big hunt, I got 6 mason jars from Dollar Tree, 
some glow paint, and some Q-tips and went to work.

Step 1:  Just load a Q-tip with some glow paint and dab little ovals at random 

            all over the inside of the jar.

Let it dry, and apply at least 2 more coats.  
*I didn't do this, but it might work better if you get some neon yellow or green paint and do the first coat in neon, and the subsequent coats in glow paint.

Step 2:  Use a Sharpie to draw wings and antennae on your cute little guys on the 

            outside of the jar.

Step 3:  (Optional) Go on a firefly hunt!

 Step 4:  "Charge" the glow paint under a lamp, turn off the lights, and enjoy 

              the glow of your very own little lightning bugs!               

I couldn't get a picture of the jars lit up in all of their buggy glory, but, trust me, it works.

Happy Monday!

  

Carnival Weekend

Sarah has declared this past weekend : THE BEST WEEKEND EVER.  So, apparently, it's all downhill from here.  It was busy and super-fun, but I am tired.  And I didn't even host anything.

We kicked it off with a PTO-sponsored carnival at Sarah's new school.  I whined the whole way there (around the corner), but I perked up after a few slices of Papa John's.  

Sarah had an agenda:

 games prizes, cotton candy, and face painting. 

Mission accomplished.

 This weekend I learned some things:

1. The pointy things on top of an owl's head are not ears.
2. TOM's don't go with shorts (on me, anyway).
3. I love winter. 

Saturday, Mike decided to host his own kind of carnival with games and activities including Take the Kids to Home Depot, Force Your Wife to Work Out at the Gym, 

Let's All Clean Out the Basement, 

and the real crowd-pleaser: Draft a Neighbor to Move Furniture. 

Here's how we felt on Sunday when the drill sergeant wasn't around to make us do chores:

"Walk the plank, you scurvy knave!"

Huzzah!

Actually, Sunday was a day filled with learning about history, engaging young minds, 

and experiencing new things at the Renaissance Festival.

Aw, who am I kidding?! We were there for the food, toys, and costumes.

Sarah wore her wings and crown, even though it was Pirate Weekend at the Fest, but, apparently fairies are a thing with the Renaissance Fair-regulars.  

So are corsets, but I'd rather not think about that.

Camel-riding was first up on the to-do list. 

Will was a trooper, even though I could tell he was scared to get on at first. 

 He was smiling by the time the camel got moving.

A big thanks to the dad who volunteered to ride with the kiddos.  I know my offspring wouldn't have been as brave if he hadn't taken one for the team.

This camel-wrangler had to remind me to get a picture of the camel's head or else a picture of kids on the back of some hairy beast wouldn't make sense.  But... I still didn't get the whole camel + kids in one shot.  
Oh, well.

I know this knight was hearkening back to the good ol' days of the Little Ice Age in his full suit of armor. 

My guys were scared of him and his cronies until he pulled a giant purple "gem" from his pack. Then it was all good in the 'hood.  

Take a picture with two scary knights and a Friar Tuck with devil horns? Sure!

(These gentlemen were so nice, though, despite their intimidating appearances.)

No Faire experience would be complete without the obligatory "head-through-a-picture-with-a-strategically-placed-hole" photo op...

...And unicorn petting.

As for the food: we regret not having a giant turkey leg, but that 1/16th of a millimeter of pretzel that I begged my kids to eat was apparently really filling.  At least, that's what they told me.  

The toy situation got a little complicated when Will became dead-set on a rocket. 

I'll just let that thought marinate for a little bit.

But, everybody perked up when we noticed the wide variety of weapons made just for kids!  My little archers chose some very cool bows and arrows.  Will did experience a twinge of buyer's remorse when he noticed the awesome swords on display.  I, however, did not.

Highlight of the trip home:

That's a horse on a barn roof.

This is how they spent the ride home:

Passed out, clutching their very own starter weapons.  How sweet.