Sometimes you have to be the bear, and by "be the bear" I mean thrash around in the raspberry bushes of -------- ----- --- (name redacted to keep the crowds down) and pick 8 quarts of berries. We cleaned and froze the berries that we picked today, stocking the freezer with enough to make pies and fruit cup all winter. Mom remembered trips to John's Cut-Off when six pickers of varying voracity tried to pick five cups for a pie; on our trip on Friday there were a couple of spots where I picked five cups without moving my feet. I didn't move my feet because with every motion there was a painful shredding of raspberry bushes into my skin, so much so that even this morning on a bike ride through the valley to our west the sweat on my skin burned in the cuts.
Apart from berry fever, an emotional weekend. A trip to Macungie Animal Hospital brought some closure to Maya's passing; I didn't know how to handle this part of a lost pet and it was every bit as hard as I'd imagined.
Despite our lingering sadness we felt for Oliver, whose loneliness has been palpable. So, this afternoon, we welcomed a dark gray male kitten: Jay Gatsby. His legs are too long for his body and his feet appear to be something of an order-entry mistake, but he's going to be a great companion for Ollie and a happy addition to our home. He loves to run and jump and so far the two felines are getting on better than we had expected.
Saturday, July 26, 2008