At the blueberry patch

Today, Kalina and I went blueberry picking. I picked blueberries while she tried to stay out of trouble, and we both accomplished our tasks to a certain extent. The weather happened to be perfect--cloudy but well-lit--and we arrived early.

The blueberry farm was idyllic, and I felt bad first driving across the freshly mowed lawn to park and then wheeling my heavy-laden stroller back across it on our way to pick berries. Kalina and I brought with us: my purse, the diaper bag, snacks, the mei tai (a front baby carrier for if Kalina got needy at an inopportune time) and a generously sized Tupperware for our berries.

My goal on entering was to pick at least four cups of berries so I could make cobbler. Having picked strawberries before, I was confident I could make it happen.

We grabbed a bucket from the woman manning (womanning?) the berry table and gained permission to wheel the stroller down the rows, which were, fortunately, quite wide and welcoming. I contemplated grabbing two buckets. Would Kalina need one? I decided we could share.

I was immediately out of my element, having only picked strawberries before, but liked all the pretty berries. Some were various shades of pink, others lightish blue, whitish green and blueish purple. I didn't want to ruin the bushes by picking them, but my antsy toddler soon goaded me to dive in. When put in a new place, Kalina gives me about five minutes of free time as she takes in her surroundings that I've learned to use wisely.

I gingerly picked through the berries, taking the most perfect ones and dropping them into the bucket one at a time. Once I had about a dozen, and Kalina made her first frustrated "Help, I'm trapped in the stroller!" movements, I peeked into the bucket to view my progress. Uh-oh--it was rather scanty. Turns out, a dozen blueberries fill nowhere near the space a dozen strawberries do. This could be a bigger project than I thought. Now out of the stroller, Kalina selected a single blueberry to hold in her hand for a while.

Because the most important thing about a trip to the berry patch with a baby is the photography, I decided to take a break and get some shots of Kalina while she was still relatively calm. Meanwhile, Kalina decided that she, too, wanted to examine/eat my progress. The bucket safely moved to the stroller seat, I continued to snap away.

And then it was back to the blueberries. I moved on to a new bush and started grabbing them by handfuls. Many weren't quite ripe, and for that I apologize. Kalina played with the leaves. Bucket check: 2/3 of a cup. Hmm.

I rushed into turbo picking mode and Kalina heightened her activity as well, pushing the stroller, with the brakes on, across the bumpy row. Can you see why we've nicknamed her Mighty Mouse? I chased her down before she could destroy too much of the berry crop, redirected her and continued picking.

Kalina then helped me push the stroller to another bush. I was at about a cup and a half and decided that blueberry cobbler simply wasn't going to happen. Kalina, for her part, decided to give me a hand. She picked greenish-yellow and pink berries while I picked dark blue ones. Thanks, Sweetie!

Then the baby decided she wanted a snack. Not a huge fan of blueberries at home, she ate approximately every other berry I pulled off the bush at the patch. A few minutes later I threw in the towel. I ended up with a little more than two cups--good enough, and at least we had fun.

But the fun wasn't over! On the way out, I held Kalina back from a large white dog and a lake with several funny-looking ducks in it.

Back at home for snacktime, Kalina wanted nothing to do with the blueberries. Maybe she was holding out for the pink ones?

Photo: Take a close look at Kalina's hand