Well, we got The Show on The Road...

...but first, we had to dress up the pickers for the celebration of our nation's birth...A must do!

And then, it was off into the field on a beautiful, beautiful day...encouragement to our souls.

And, I don't doubt, a few others' too!

In spite of the ugliness of the fruit -- yes, it was soft from rain, with some over-ripe and moldy berries that had to come out -- we had a good picking day. Good in that the crew did well; the ugly stuff is getting picked off and is decreasing; we got the show on the road...

Not so good in that the end product was almost puree before we pureed it, and it was slow going to get it cleaned up nicely. Thankfully, the mold test showed that the kids, in the field and in the plant, were doing a good job.

And it will just keep getting better each day, what with the forecast for TRUE SUMMER WEATHER!

{BIG SMILEY FACE}

At the end of the day, as we sat by our 4th of July-let's-roast-marshmallows-fire, The Farmer said, "What a fun day this was..."

And it was! From our traditional Cowboy Breakfast in the morning, to picking berries in the sunshine, relaxing by the fire before bed...it was just great!

Oh yes...the Cowboy Breakfast...

I took pictures with my iphone, and did a poor job of it, so the credit for these next two photos goes to my dear cousin, Cindy Honcoop, from whose facebook page I ripped them off.

Aren't they great pictures?

I'm sure you can see the difference now that I have posted one of mine...I am posting this inferior photo just to illustrate that my children pitched in to make the cookout go smoothly. Cait was the Official Buttermilk Pancake Mixer. Dillon was Co-fire-Maker with Grandpa, and Official Pancake Cooker. Tiffany wasThe Official in Charge of Bacon & Sausage. Grandpa did a little bit of everything, and actually sat down to eat this year. Grandma kept the coffee pot going and supplies coming.

They were quite the team...and a good time was had by all...

...as usual.

We did miss Jess, who didn't get to come north. July 4 is a big Stumping Day for candidates and their campaign managers, so he had to go man a table at the Sammamish 4th of July Celebration...and eat food, and watch fireworks there.

He suffers; he suffers much.

But that's another post altogether. We suffered a little too as we had to leave the party to go get the crew started in the field...but it was the kind of suffering we can handle.

Much better than the suffering of the day before...watching the rain pour, and wondering...well, about life and your choice of occupation...

But things are looking up now, and, as The Farmer said, it was a fun day.