Surprises While Berry Picking

Some dear friends of ours invited us over this morning to pick wild blackberries. We happily accepted the invitation and wound up picking almost 2 liters of berries. I love that blackberries grow wild in Mississippi. I also love the fact that if you know where and how to look, nature provides quite a feast.

The boys, however, weren't very interested in picking berries. Instead, they had sword fights with sticks, threw dirt in the air (and at each other), spotted hawks, hollered when they saw bumblebees, and discovered this guy:

"Peek-a-boo!"

I helped the kids dig the turtle out of his little hiding place, then told them that if we were quiet and the turtle decided it was safe to come out of his shell, that we might have the chance to see him. He did, in fact, decide that and then decided that he'd rather not hang around a bunch of kids (with sticks) and a crazy lady taking his picture, so he took off into the brush.

By that point, the kids were getting restless and not staying close to the adults, so we decided it was time to go in, and then, go home. Jack was not thrilled with that decision, but Sam is teething and has a cold (ugh), and needed to go home and rest. I'm hoping to use these berries, plus some others to make Triple Berry Freezer Jam. But more on that later.