We went on a little adventure this weekend to pick berries at the u-pick farm called Sweder Berries (approx. 30 minutes south of town). It was a drizzly drive and I was immediately regretting my decision to wear tennis shoes instead of my rainboots – I also had not anticipated needing the kids’ rainboots or mud buddy suits (lying weather network). By the time we arrived the drizzle was letting up leaving it a perfect temperature to pick in. I put the kids in their raincoats and hats and sprayed them with insect repellent before letting them loose. My Dad said there were no bugs, I’m not sure what he was looking at but there were definitely mosquitos lying in wait (Cedric has the marks to prove it haha).

Amelia and Cedric enjoyed running up and down the rows of berries and watching the group pick Saskatoons. Grandpa reached in and was able to bend a few trees over so Amelia could also pick (plus the juiciest berries were on the top branches). My mom told her that Saskatoons are delicious, so Amelia gamely tasted one….she immediately went “blech! Yucky!” and made a face of disgust while trying to scrape her tongue off. I told her they taste better in pies.

Cedric sampled a few but also spat them out. He did however have a great time trying to remove the picked berries from the pails. I eventually got him his own little container with a few berries so he could play. After a bit of time shaking saskatoons out of his container, he made his way back to the big pails and used his bucket to smoosh the berries :S At least we noticed what he was up to before he did too much damage.

All-in-all we were there 1.5 hrs before the kids were thoroughly wet and getting tired. Thankfully I did bring them changes of clothes. On the dirt road back to the driveway we came across two Mule deer bucks running down the lane so followed them towards the highway. They eventually found an opening and bounded off into the woods. When I told Neil about the deer he immediately asked ‘how many points” . . . . you know hunting season is approaching when . . . .Neil had missed out on the trip because he was working nights that day and needed to sleep.

Amelia made it all the way back home awake, but Cedric couldn’t keep his eyes open zzz. Overall it was a great day or fresh and family time.