Went blueberry picking today and this is a picture of our plentiful harvest, six quarts to be exact. I have never picked fresh blueberries before so this was quite an adventure. The guy that owned the farm was a nice fellow who let us pick his brain on how to grow and harvest our own blueberries someday. He also let us eat a few berries off the tree while we were picking, Becky loved that. I don't think that guy new what he was getting into. After eating twice the amount depicted above I thought Becky was going to look like the person depicted below and roll down the hillside. I finally wrestler her away from the field and dried her crying eyes as she exclaimed "Now I know what Heaven will be like".... It was a pretty good day.

Black Raspberries

Well, the black raspberry season has finally ended for us. We had a sizeable harvest this year: five fresh cobblers, seven quarts of whole berries, and eight pints of preserves, not to mention the millions eaten right off the vine. We had some adventures this year in our collecting. It seemed to rain everyday, and Dj and I repeatedly fell down the hillside on our butts every time we harvested. We have no pictures of the battle scars, just the canning.

Virginia for the 4th

We took a road trip with the "old people" to Keysville, VA over the 4th of July weekend. We had a quiet visit with Dj's great-grandma; she seemed such a charming, Southern belle with some personality! On the way back to WV, we stopped at Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson. George W. gave a speech there the day before, and somehow the crowds stuck around. In all of our pictures, there is always someone else croc'ing in the corner! We had to wait a couple hours, but were finally able to tour the house.
My favorite part of Monticello were the gardens and fruit trees. The garden was 1000 feet long and filled with all types of yummy things. The orchards contained peach, apricot, cherry, and apple trees at least. We could not resist and helped ourselves to some delicious cherries and apricots straight off the tree. Jefferson added a bunch of personal touches and inventions to his estate; the above sundial is just one of the many. Probably only Jefferson knows how it works... Monticello really is a unique place, from the stables and the kitchens, to the maps hanging on the walls and all weather passage. I recommend going on a non-holiday weekend.

Gone Fishin

My sister and her family recently came to town for a little family reunion. One of the activities on the to do list was to go fishing. I decided that I would taken them to my top secret fishing hole where you can catch a huge bass guarantied. I was the first to wrestle one to shore but I forgot that I had the camera with me so you'll have to miss out on the 20 pound bass I caught. next was the little man. AKA Thomas.

He said it put up a good fight but was no match for his bulging biceps. The next person to catch a fish was Becky but she lost it back to the river before we could take a picture. After that it was my Mom, now this was a momentous occasion being that this was the first bass my mom had ever caught and has been a life long dream of hers. If you look real close you can just make out a tear falling from her eye.

Among the hundreds of fish I caught that day I finally remembered that I had the camera on me and took a picture of this one. not as big and the first one. But if you could imagine me standing like I am in this picture that fish's tail fin would have been thrashing around in the water. Apart for the one that I forgot to take a picture of it was a pretty good day over all. (And no, we didn't just pass the same fish around and take pictures of it.)

Conservative?

I am a huge fan of Glenn Beck. I agree with him on most issues. Today he wrote an article on being a conservative. I really liked it, and again, I agree with most.
A conservative believes that our inalienable rights do not include housing, healthcare or Hummers.
A conservative believes that our inalienable rights DO include the pursuit of happiness. That means it is guaranteed to no one.
A conservative believes that those who pursue happiness and find it have a right to not be penalized for that success.
A conservative believes that there are no protections against the hardship and heartache of failure. We believe that the right to fail is just as important as the chance to succeed and that those who do fail learn essential lessons that will help them the next time around.
A conservative believes in personal responsibility and accepts the consequences for his or her words and actions.
A conservative believes that real compassion can't be found in any government program.
A conservative believes that each of us has a duty to take care of our neighbors. It was private individuals, companies and congregations that sent water, blankets and supplies to New Orleans far before the government ever set foot there.
A conservative believes that family is the cornerstone of our society and that people have a right to manage their family any way they see fit, so long as it's not criminal. We are far more attuned to our family's needs than some faceless, soulless government program.
A conservative believes that people have a right to worship the God of their understanding. We also believe that people do not have the right to jam their version of God (or no God) down anybody else's throat.
A conservative believes that people go to the movies to be entertained and to church to be preached to, not the other way around.
A conservative believes that debt creates unhealthy relationships. Everyone, from the government on down, should live within their means and strive for financial independence.
A conservative believes that a child's education is the responsibility of the parents, not the government.
A conservative believes that every human being has a right to life, from conception to death.
A conservative believes in the smallest government you can get without anarchy. We know our history: The larger a government gets, the harder it will fall.

Florence

Something about summertime gets me longing for Italy. I have never been there, but twice in the past I made plans to go without getting there. Ok, they were more like daydreams, but still- my heart was set on Italy. Lately, I have been minorly stressed for one reason or another, and have found relief in Florence. I was reading a rather lame book that happened to take place in Florence. I had a few minutes and typed in "florence" on google images. It was instant relief, magic! Suddenly, life was just a bit better. Someday, I'll get there.

New stuff, Old stuff

I have been asking Dj to update the blog FOREVER, but he has been too busy watching his new favorite show, can you guess it? So you think you can dance. Meanwhile, I have finally tackled the Turkey pictures, and am finally organizing them and writing some memories down. I have nine pages to go and I'll be done!! Yeah, that says March 2007, but finally! I am so glad I pressed so many flowers in the pages of my guide book while I was there, because that is my favorite thing about my memory book.

If you haven't heard, Dj is the owner of a new toy, a Piaggio BV250. Some may call it a moped, some may call it a scooter, but I like to call it the Silver Surfer. Thanks Larkin for the name. Dj has had it for a month. He went three weeks on a half tank of gas, which comes out to about 90 miles a gallon. Someday I'll be brave and ride it with him.

We have also done a new thing this summer and ordered some fruit plants from nurserys. We are the proud owners of two blueberry bushes, which should start producing fruit next year. I can't wait that long! They arrived very small and half dead, but have grown rather nicely.

Also, the Shrub in our front yard DIED. It was ugly and horrible, so we are not really sad to be free of it. We decided to go ahead and get a peach tree, cause, why not. When it arrived, we about busted our gut laughing. It was stick attached to a peach seed--no joke. Dj went ahead and planted it, and now it looks like a dead stick in the ground. If you squint you might be able to make it out behind the post. No signs of life yet...

And lastly, Peekaboo. She has been with us for five happy years now. Doesn't she look so thrilled about it?