The signs of summer.

Pick…

…eat…

…repeat.

At least little Joan did until she all but blew up into a purple ball like Violet Beauregarde in Willy Wonka. You mean these things grow on trees? Nice to see that the local fruit orchards are managing to make a comeback after last year’s disastrous frosts. The patch where we usually go produced a total of 3,000 pounds of blueberries last year, which is nothing. Joan ate that much in 50 minutes. With the rest of us working, we managed to pull about two gallons, which is enough for jam, a weekend 4th of July cobbler, and another batch of muffins. This variety is known as the BlueRay, it grows well in the Ohio Valley heat and offers a mix of sweetness and acidity that I prefer both for jam and baking.