Blue as a Blueberry

This post is probably best read from the bottom up if sequence matters to you.
Here is the fruit of my morning labors. Most of them I freeze but they are always best fresh with my breakfast yogurt or in a cobbler with ice cream for dessert.

See the bench at the end of this path? That is where I ate my lunch of a bagel and a plum; after nibbling on berries all morning I was amazed that I wanted any fruit at all! I saw an eagle flying high above the river. He was probably scoping out lunch for himself.

This morning I joined throngs of other avid blueberry pickers for opening day of picking at Bybee Nims Farm in North Bend. What a location! I marvel at the beauty of this farm every year I go picking. Yes there were LOTS of pickers but the berries were thicker and fatter than I have ever seen so there was no need to feel there was competition to fill your bucket. I picked a bit over 16 pounds in two and a half hours. My friend Valerie and her teenaged daughter picked twice that and then some. The sun didn't start to break the clouds till about noon which was perfect since we were leaving.

I took the back way home from the Thursday night concert in the Admiral District and went past the Dragonfly Pavilion which is looking so much more established now that the landscaping has grown.


It was incredible how many little kids under the age of 5 were at the concert in the park. Honestly, it was like a preschool convention. Even more than the music I enjoyed watching all the antics of the kids and the comfort of knowing no one and having no responsibility to discipline any of them. They were awfully darn cute, especially the ones dancing in front of the stage.
Last night I went to Hiawatha Park to hear a free concert. The venue was the Alma Villegas Quintet . I like Latin music plenty well enough but I was not overly impressed. I did like a Cuban piece that they did but most of the songs were just too over the top 'romantico' for me. It was a beautiful evening though and most families had picnic fare and they were spread out on their blankets having a great time letting the kids run more or less free and that's how summer should be; full of freedom.