Picking Raspberries with the Bedlamites

    I went this morning with Beth and the little Bedlamites to pick raspberries at the Raising Cain upick raspberry farm.  It was a fun time and we left with four half flats or about 18 pounds of raspberries. The raspberries were huge and very tasty. At first the kids did most of their picking out of either Beth's or my box. I made several attempt to encourage them to pick their own berries. John acted very offended and flat told me no.  I later told Lucy to not be a lazy slug and pick her own berries. She then started to cry and told her mom "Grandpa called me a lazy slug!" It wasn't exactly my best moment as a grandpa. The kids mostly played between the rows, but at some point Lucy and Britton seemed to catch on and were actually adding berries to my flat. I think we can count ourselves lucky that they didn't weigh each of the kids before and after berry picking. I probably would have been on the hook for a few more pounds of raspberries.

Britton picking raspberries while John and Lucy play on the grass

    Beth would be my favorite daughter-in-law even if she wasn't my only daughter-in-law. I don't say that just because she likes to can, although that does score points with me. She even offered to make all of the raspberry jam.  The main thing I admire in her is how very patient and kind she is with her children.  The little Bedlamites certainly do their best to test her patience. That is probably one of my few regrets from the time when our own children were small. I wish I had been more patient and kindly. I feel that I owe a lot to Linda's influence and example in helping me to learn patience and to become a better father. I can only imagine how messed up my kids would have been without Linda's influence in my life.

Beautiful large raspberries

    They had some baby ducks in a pen and some loose ducks wandering around at the farm.  In a separate pen they had some chickens and a turkey.  John was really interested in the turkey until it bit him on the finger. I imagine that a little kid's finger looks way too much like the kind of little wiggly edibles that a free range turkey might find in the grass. Assuming turkeys are sentient beings (a big stretch of the imagination in my opinion) possibly the turkey thought as follows: "It moves and it will fit in my mouth, ergo it must be turkey food."