The Latest Happenings

• We went blueberry picking this morning, totally last minute. It was a blast! The kids specifically reminded me to go to the farm with 'the old man and his really old truck who ties coffee cans around you and tells you not to wear flip flops!' And guess what they wore? Flip flops. And guess what he said? Yep. 'This is a farm. Flip flops are not a good idea!' And then he sent us to a lovely patch right near his broken down aerostream trailer, no walking required! Oh, and he tied coffee cans on us all. The kids were all very helpful and determined to pick enough for pie and jam and cake. Even Tyler was such a champ and kept picking away, although the blue juice dripping from his chin will give you an indication of how many ended up in the bucket. When Fred (the farmer) sent us off, he told us to remember to put a blueberry in our mouth every now and then, not just in the bucket! James and Tyler took him very seriously and James gave up early and sat under the shade in a blueberry-induced coma. On the way to the car, we caught a baby toad who rode home with us in the cooler and is named 'Fred Nila Tyler the Blueberry'. Here's hoping they refine their taste in names before they grow into adulthood. 

And in completely unrelated news:

• The chickens...I have been lax about updates. The 6 young chicks are big enough that I decided they could go in with the big ones and they mostly hold their own. What I didn't realize was that they had found a tiny opening to squeeze through and feast on my garden. FYI: chickens like kale. A lot. Yesterday we got what I think was the biggest egg we've ever gotten. Our 'normal' eggs are probably the size of a jumbo egg from the store (with the exception of one chicken who likes to lay nice dainty eggs). This egg as like a jumbo egg on steroids. It wouldn't even fit in the egg carton. I cracked it open and no surprise, it was a double yolker. Each yolk was the size of a normal egg too. She really outdid herself. It made a delicious breakfast.