Sunday, May 01, 2011

Counting Blessings....




We've been picking blueberries for more than a week now. In our own garden. Thanks to the interest, patience, persistence, perseverance and unfailing green thumbs of The Bean. Until now I've sort of taken it for granted. Yes, he loves to grow stuff. There are always pots of this and that, in various stages of growth all around the house and garden.




His fruit tree experiments are lined up on the patio in various stages of growth....His orchids fill all the available space on the patio windowsills. Inside, on the kitchen counter, there are always cuttings of some kind, in jars of water, growing roots.....




 And we always have bags of dirt and cow manure to step over. It's not very tidy. Better Homes and Gardens would not come here for a photo shoot....... though Organic Gardener might.
 



 He would like to be a farmer. Except we don't have a farm. His great grandfather in Eastern Europe had lots of land. Until the Russians decided he should "sign it over" to the state. My maternal grandfather was a farmer, and my uncles, after he died, and now my cousins..........In Ireland. With his talent he should be a farmer.....


I went out to the garden to pick the latest batch of blueberries this morning. The bushes were laden down with fruit, and it made me so happy, just standing there in the sunshine, filling my bowl with those little berries. When I came in I went to find him [in front of the computer---finals are coming up]

"Stand up," I said, "I need to hug you!"

"Why?" he asked.

"For giving me the simple, but unbelievable pleasure, of  picking these in my own garden," I said, and showed him my overflowing bowl of berries.

Small blessings in the form of little blue berries. A big blessing in the strapping son who grew them.



So, breakfast was a no-brainer.... Yup....... Blueberry pancakes.

You could still taste the sunshine.

17 comments:

secret agent woman said...

Nice! I have fond memories of picking blueberries every year in my grandmother's yard.

Stomper Girl said...

I got a little tear in my eye reading that. Well done The Bean, for making your mother so happy.

Thimbleanna said...

Wow -- that's very cool Molly. Is the Bean for sale? Or available as a loaner? Are blueberries hard to grow? I think they'd be super fun to have. And thank the Bean for us too -- his blueberries brought you back to us! ;-D

Birdydownunder said...

It makes the heart sing doesn't it Molly. Well done The Bean and Molly.

molly said...

Florida's blueberries ripen a month or so before those further north, so right now you can pick blueberries at any number of local farms....for a price! It's nice to have my own resident expert....And no, he's not for sale, but we could negotiate a loan. And yes, blueberries are persnickety, and fussy, and need acidic soil, and the patience of Job, which would disqualify me at the starting gate! Life has handed us large helpings of gloom this past year, so yes, Birdy,blueberries make the heart sing!

Relatively Retiring said...

Good to see you back, Molly.
Those are the best sort of blessings, sunshine and things growing strong - especially sons.

persiflage said...

How lovely, it does indeed make the heart sing. To make plants grow, to be such a part of nature and to have such a passion, is indeed wonderful.It seems to be something innate, doesn't it? I always used to wander around the garden and see what was coming out, and loved foraging for blackberries, mushrooms, and having as many plants as could possibly be fitted always gave me such joy.
I wonder what related and other talent your Bean will sprout.

Ali Honey said...

Well done Ben. You got a better crop than we did.

You asked about the book that I found disturbing.
If you Google Cormac McCarthy you can find some reviews of the book "The Road." It is a father and son's journey in post apocalypyic America. I had to finish reading it but is wasn't pleasant. Let's hope it never comes to that.

SmitoniusAndSonata said...

What a treasure !! He truly deserves his pancake reward . And , like any mother , you'll have had to eat any leftover bits ....

Julie's Journey said...

I have a small blueberry plant but so far no blueberries or not grown good enough to pick and eat. Even though it is a different hemisphere perhaps you could get The Bean to pass on some tips. You make it sound so nice.
Just read about the acidic soil - will see if mine qualifies.

dianne said...

my baby girl (yeah, the adult child who won't go outside because "there are bugs out there") wants to plant blueberry bushes - she actually thinks that she can get them to produce, even though our soil's pH is so full of alkaline that you could make batteries from it ... thank goodness for Maine and Oregon, or i'd never get to eat blueberries.

Anonymous said...

Lovely post. You inspire me to see the joy in the simple things of life. Unfortunately, you also have me hankering for blueberry pancakes made with fresh garden picked blueberries.

Pauline said...

"Stand up - I need to hug you."

I love that you have your son handy for a hug (and to feed you with sunshine). Lucky you for many reasons!

Meggie said...

What a lovely lovely post! How full of joy and love.XX

Pam said...

A lovely post. I don't mind buying my blueberries at the supermarket but I wish I had my son handy to hug.

Ali Honey said...

It's me again Molly. I have just been studying my map of where we are going to be going in Ireland, when we are on holiday soon.
I think it might be near where you were raised? We fly into Dublin. Then the 4 of us hire a car and drive across to near Ennis. The young 2 are going to a wedding at Dromoland castle. We are staying nearby at Clare Inn Hotel. We are going to drive up to Galway probably and do thngs in that general area before driving back to Dublin by a different route. We are only there 4 days and 3 nights so any must do or see things from you?

The Lass said...

Oh, how lovely! What a beautiful image of you picking your own berries. Your Bean is a gem! I am hoping for considerably less gloom and much more sunshine for you in the days and months to come.