Blackberry Picking

Tonight, after days of prodding from Mr. Potts (aka Dad) most of us went blackberry picking on the back side of our hill, which is covered with blackberries. Mr. Potts walks over the hill every day when he comes home for lunch and, like Sal in Blueberries For Sal, he munches along the way. Tonight was a perfect night because the remains of tropical storm Cindy brought us cooler weather. Normally, I am not to be found participating in any non-water outdoor activity in July. My born-and-bred-in-Michigan blood just doesn't tolerate the heat well. But tonight, being cooler than normal, seemed like a good night to honor Mr. Potts wishes.

Since it was a sporadic decision to go picking, I went along in my shorts, t-shirt, and Chaco sandals. I thought I was dumb until I saw SmokeyBear wearing just soccer shorts! Yes, he was wading through masses of prickly blackberry bushes with bare feet and a bare chest! Tigger was not much better off with just shorts and a t-shirt and no shoes.

TheLittlestPrincess kept running up and down calling everyone to come see the big berries she had found. Together we picked twenty cups, eight of which we used to make a delicious cobbler, and the rest are in the freezer. Mr. Potts took Tigger and TheLittlestPrincess to town to get some vanilla ice cream because you just can't eat cobbler without it!

A New Venture

We are starting out on a new adventure of blogging. I'm sure it will be interesting since we are not the most computer literate family! Hopefully this will be a way our friends and extended family can keep tabs on us and an avenue for all of us to learn to creatively express ourselves with our written language.

Our name, Shadybrook Acres, comes from the name the kids gave our property that we purchased 10 years ago in beautiful eastern Tennessee. At the base of our hill runs a shady brook that has seen many an afternoon of fun and adventure. This has been the central place of memorable outdoor activity for our 7 children from crawdad catching to panning for gold. From the top of our hill you can see the beautiful Appalachian Mountains. Ten years ago we stood on this land and imagined a dream; now we are living it.