For those of you who have been reading this blog for a long time, you have seen plenty of blueberry posts here over the years. (At one point my blog banner even had a picture of blueberries across the top, remember that?) Our family is very fond of blueberries.

There was a time when our family went blueberry picking many times throughout the summer. I remember Jeff and I milking goats and finishing animal care in the early mornings to drive to the blueberry fields and start picking before the heat of the day set in. That was before B was born. After that, I wore B in the baby carrier while we picked. Such good memories.

When I think about blueberry picking… I can close my eyes and feel the warm summer sun on my skin, and taste the flavor of the berries bursting in my mouth. I can hear the sound of berries dropping in the bucket one by one, and I can hear the people in the blueberry bushes near me, family and friends… picking together, laughing together.

There were summers when our family wanted to pick all the blueberries we could to freeze for throughout the year, so we went picking as often as we could, and sometimes at several different local farms. There were summers we went blueberry picking with family, and others we went blueberry picking with friends, or both. Some years the berries were late with the weather, or done early because heat ripened them all at once, or the field was closed altogether because of too much loss from birds.

While our family doesn’t go blueberry picking as often as we once did, it’s still something we enjoy doing each summer. This year B and I went blueberry picking with friends in late August (bringing plenty home for Jeff to enjoy.) At this point, B’s childhood has been filled with picking blueberries. Now he is no longer a baby in a carrier reaching his tiny hands out towards the bushes, but a teenager (!) filling up his bucket alongside me.

As things shift and change over time, one thing’s for sure- for me, going blueberry picking makes it feel more “officially” like summer. Summer and blueberries just go together. What I love more than the delicious berries (which I really do love), are the memories made each summer, and the time spent in good company.