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Strawberry fields forever... I kept singing that line in my head all morning as we were in a seemingly endless field of strawberries. We've been berry picking before, but it's never been as fun as this. The morning was warm, but a cool breeze kept us comfortable. And the kids actually added more to the basket than they ate.

At first all you see is green leaves everywhere. The strawberries are hidden in the shade of the plants. You carefully move the leaves out of the way and there are little clusters of ruby-colored fruits. The sun has warmed them ever so slightly, and the entire field smells like strawberry jam. Every time the breeze picks up you smell strawberries and cream, strawberry shortcake, strawberry jam... After a few minutes our hands were dripping with strawberry juice, not from eating them but just from picking them! If heaven had a scent it might be a strawberry field!

We spent a little over an hour picking and got 15.75 lbs of berries! Once we were back at the cider mill we grabbed some of their famous donuts and cider and played for a while.

I sat under a cherry tree and watched them play. We will be going back in a few weeks to pick some of these:

There was a sign that said they weren't ready to be picked yet, but a few were too tempting and BOY were they good. I am excited about going back...

We stopped to grab pectin on the way home. I whipped together a pie and several jars of jam.

After a few interruptions (dinner, phone call from Jonathan [!!!!]) this is what I had:

I'd say it was a productive day. The kids were helpful and got the living and dining rooms vacuumed and straightened up their room and the entry hall. Good kids. They were pretty tired so I'm grateful they worked so well and willingly.

So all is peaceful and quiet on the homefront. I have some dishes to do and a table to wipe down. I'll make up another chore tracker, too. Saturday will be great!