U PICK

Its been a while since i actually WROTE anything on this blog.  Well, today, i feel like i have a story for you all. Its not that exciting, its just what we did today. Naia is napping peacefully and i feel like sharing.

Mommy and daughter set out for a fun day at the farm/orchard/U-pick in Ipswich.  Its called Russell's Orchard and its made at least 1 appearance on this blog. pumpkins, apples, good times.  we LOVE this place.

And since we heard the strawberries were, as they say, ripe for the picking, we got excited.

See strawberry t shirt.  See also elmo backpack packed with some of naias little friends who also wanted to pick strawberries.

 

So i did my research like i always do and checked the website for the orchard this morning, delighted to find out that they had hay rides to and from the berry patches every half hour for people who wanted to pick their own strawberries. Great, no need for a big stroller or anything, i thought. So there we were. Ready to party and ready to pick.

 

Can i just ask you to take note of how cute and sweet she is? When you see this picture, aren't you just rooting for her to have a great day? Well...

So we get there at 11:05.  This may not seem important but there you go. We go up to the booth where the nice teen age girl is wearing a smile and what appears to be an eagerness to answer questions.  too bad she doesn't actually HAVE any answers.  When i ask her about the hay ride, she says i "must've" just missed it.  The next one would be coming "soon."  In my head i think, "soon" must mean 30 minutes from now, like the website said. Not confirming this verbally was my mistake. 

Waiting around at this place isn't actually waiting around. There is A LOT to do. There are animals and a playground full of "weee"s.  It didn't matter what order we did it in, i thought.

  

we did the above stated things and meandered, keeping our eye on the hay ride "station".  But we were getting hot.

really hot

11:35: we see a hay wagon, run to it, and watch it drive by without stopping, and empty, except for the driver.  We ask our favorite high school orchard summer employee if we just missed the hayride.  

(i'm about to paraphrase here)

'No. That one wasn't taking anybody to the orchard... '

(thinking: hmmm.  yeah could've guessed that...)  'The next one?'

'Oh No, ha ha, not til 12.' its only about a 10 minute walk.  probably a lot longer than that with her (pointing at naia) ha ha"

"uh...' --interrupted by naia throwing her head back full force while i'm holding her (its her new thing. she does it when "no" hasn't gotten through to us or to punctuate her frustration).  it was all i could do to hold onto her.  

the orchard girl started helping the only other people i saw there at the time, and i tended to naia.  

we went back to the car so she could nurse in the parking lot. i don't know if i've mentioned this yet: ITS REALLY HOT OUT.  AND HUMID.  AND THERE IS NO, I MEAN, NO, BREEZE.

We do the nursing, i get her to drink some water...the ice has melted but its still on the refreshing side.

i have to pee.  oh, lucky me. there are port-a-potties.  how, you may be asking, might someone use a port a potty with a baby in tow?  well, here's what THIS someone did.  I got the little umbrella stroller out of the trunk, strapped naia in, wheeled us over to the fun zone, and there in the middle of the field, with naia parked in front of me, i used the lovely "facility" with the door wide open so i could see her, and yes, if anyone wanted, they could've seen ME too.  i got lucky though.  no one walked by.  

So, now I have Naia in the rinky dink stroller, and set out on the 10 minute dirt/rock road walk.  I'd insert a picture here but the camera was in my bag, where it belonged.  I don't want to talk about that walk.  i'll just say if i had any toxins in my body, i sweat them all out... so thats a good thing.

We get there.  i think.  those look like strawberry plants. But where are the strawberries? i find a few little immature ones, a few more rotten ones and occasionally see one i might eat. Naia isn't even asking to get out of the stroller.  This doesn't happen. Normally, when the wheels stop, baby girl is chomping at the bit to get out and has very little patience about it. This is how i know she's hot. That and the shine and flush of her face and how her hair is looking wet. (yes she was slathered in sun block before we left the house). i find what shade i can to wheel naia into, hand her some strawberries, remind her about drinking her minima (water), and begin my desperate effort to find edible strawberries cause I'LL BE DAMNED if we're leaving empty handed.  I am doing what looks like suicide sprints between naia and each row of strawberries, singing loudly whatever i can think of to keep her entertained. We must've been a sight to see. This is when it first occurs to me to write a blog about this.  i take out the camera to record the situation.  What's this? She's eating them? (have i mentioned naia doesn't usually like to EAT strawberries no matter how many times ive tried? I guess i found ONE way to get her to try a new food...) 

So we end up with almost a pint of sad strawberries.  i'm satisfied.  now i wonder how long we'll wait for the stupid hay wagon....  but i don't wonder for long.  i just start trucking.  in case anyone has ever wondered, naia is NOT a fan of off-roading. Getting back is just as pleasant as getting there, thanks to ... summer (is THAT what they call this?). 

its on the second death march that i remember a little something from when i was a kid.  i had a rough day one time involving 'U Pick' strawberries and shark valley in the Everglades.  I am not going to tell that story.  (if by any chance you'd ever like to hear it, all you have to do is ask any of my immediate family and they'll all too eagerly tell you about "the Woooorsssstttt daaaaay of my/[her] life without exaggerating even a little, i'm sure).  Anyway, the gist of the story is that i, at about age 6,  had a hard time with the events of my day and did NOT handle it well.  I thought about this and looked down at Naia thinking she was being much tougher than her mom was when she was little.  Naia looks ABSOLUTELY MISERABLE.  but whenever i ask if she's ok, she thinks about it and gives a pathetic little "yeah", kindof the same way as when she falls and hurts herself a little and i ask the same question. Kindof saying, "i know this looks bad, but i'll be ok, mom".

We get back. Orchard girl asks us how it was.  i manage not to say anything rude.

She rings me up and says 'good news! you didn't pick enough to owe me any money!' (we pre paid and that 3 dollars goes towards your total when they weigh your loot at the end)

'oh great.'

then i inquire, politely about the lack of strawberries....

'oh they're all gone. ha ha.  the festival was this weekend.  the rasberries are out though.'

this time all i could manage was a scowl.

There's a little country store type thing.  i figured we'd go there, sure that they'd have something cold.  BINGO!  Mom was right about SOMETHING today.  We find ICE CREAM and figure out a way to turn our whole day around!!

 

Here is naia with the ice cream we shared in the ice box section of this little store!?!!  who knew?!?!  there's not so much as a fan in the rest of the place and they have a refrigerated room? We sat there, so happy, eating and recuperating and i started to not worry about naias fluid balance. Then comes this lady with her 12-ish year old daughter...both of which had big sweat stains on their shirts.  ahhh, i think, someone to co miserate with.  i started to exchange pleasantries.  She asked me, with eye brows raised, if i had taken my baby picking.  i smile, and say yes, and something about hind sight and how the ice cream was helping...  Then, before whispering something to her daughter and leaving, she gives me another eye brow raise and a snicker with a big sweaty "hmmfff..."

Like i didn't feel bad enough already. Thanks lady.  thanks for the icing on my sticky melted nauseating cake. 

Naia cried/wailed the whole way home, when she normally would've passed out before we got back on the highway.  But once we got home, played inside a little, and had some down time, Naia was (as my mom would say) no worse for the wear.  Then were partied like usual with dad and have had a great day.  Not even a touch of sunburn...When i asked her LATER in the day if she liked picking strawberries, Naia said yes.  go figure.

i think i learned a few lessons with this one.  unfortunately those lessons haven't  made themselves abundantly clear to me yet.   Maybe its the dehydration.  but what i do know is this:

- Naia is rad

- Some people just like to criticize others (especially, unfortunately, mothers) someone else may have criticized me for NOT taking her.  so i just need to get over it or at least start some fights to defend myself.

- a pint of strawberries can look like a trophy.

- its fine and sortof expected that the part time employee doesn't really care whats going on.  i probably wouldn't have if i were her.

- i still love this place and will go back, soon in fact.

- next time, brooks is coming with us!