Blueberries!

I went to pick blueberries today.  I pass so many produce stands and farms on my way to and from town that I figured I may as well try one out.  As I arrived just about an hour after dawn (because I'm whipped and I get up with Josh to make breakfast), a woman and her husband were arriving at the same time and said they regularly drive 2 hrs to this farm because it has the best berries.  That made me much more confident in my choice.  Especially since I wasn't just wasting time on the closest place to my house, but that it happened to be really good. 

I just want to wear this like a feed bag.

For me, blueberries are one of those foods that I forget I love until I pick them myself because at other times of the year,  I just use frozen or imported ones.  I hesitate a little before biting into one that I've just pulled off a bush because I expect it to be sour or bitter.  As soon as the memories of the previous summer's fresh berries come back with that first bite, I could just sit amongst the bushes and eat all day.  Luckily, Josh is the same way and blueberries are super healthy so I don't mind being a glutton.  He was so excited when I brought home fresh berries that he ate a whole pint while my back was turned.  He tried to blame it on the dogs but his blue tongue gave him away.

It wasn't all pleasant pickings though.  As it was getting hot and I was getting close to being done, I saw a cool caterpillar on a blueberry leaf.

I used to live in the woods and wanted to be a veterinarian at one point so I love animals (except spiders) and I especially love to discover ones I've never seen.  I snapped a quick picture of this little guy with my camera phone and then left him alone to pick more berries.  I thought I had moved down the row a bit more but suddenly as my arm brushed against a branch, I felt an excruciating burn on my elbow.  I backed away and then noticed that the caterpillar was where I had just been and I'd accidentally touched it.  I could hear other berry pickers nearby and I was in so much pain that I really considered calling for help.  I'm a soccer player though, so I just quickly Googled "poisonous green caterpillar" on my phone to see if I was in any real danger.  I found the Wikipedia page for the Io Moth Caterpillar and everything seemed to match.  Basically, caterpillar stings are like bee stings; if you happen to be allergic to the barbs on their back, you might be in trouble but otherwise, you'll just be in a lot of pain for a short while.  The pain went away after only a minute or two but I was done for the day.  Time to run home to deal once again with the despicable cable company in this area and to start building my herb boxes!  Be careful out there! The most innocent of critters can be dangerous.