peaches

my dear friend suggested meeting at the peach orchard. i am ashamed to say i've never been to a peach orchard. in fact, i do not think i've ever even seen a peach tree. Finn was super, super excited to "go pick peaches off a tree!" and i am super excited that my boys know the true origins of real food.
we went to this lovely orchard, which i've passed who knows how many times in ten years and, i am ashamed to say, never been to. the orchard that was open was a mile or two away from the main orchard, down a virgina back road lined with gracious farms from a century and a half ago. it was amazing. and the orchard, right in the shenandoah hills. the peach trees had seen quite a bit of damage from recent storms, but we were still able to find some good picking.

I think Finn actually was most excited about the wagons. he could pull it, too--strong boy!

for Alex, though, it was all about the peaces. (he looks like such a twig here, but he's scrappy, this one!)

after two pecks, they were done, so we packed up the peaches and unpacked the picnic. unfortunately, finn thought it would be fun to play with the buttons on the camera, so this is the last photo.

we stopped to pick some blackberries at the other part of the orchard, just for good measure. they are so tasty. (i told finn they were "dark raspberries", otherwise he would not have eaten them.) finn was eating them as fast as i could pick them--although he did help me pick, too. we're on a roll this year! i cannot wait to do apple picking this autumn. as a michigan native, this is where my heart is. maybe next year will find us planting, if not picking our own berries: i lived on berries in the summer as a kid and want my kids to, also. literally! the house i associate with most of my life had black raspberries, mulberries, and rhubarb, so sometimes i would not even come inside for lunch. it was great.

here's to dirty feet!