Thursday

 What do you do with 18 pounds of cherries?

I told the girls my mouth was very sad because we were half finished with summer and I haven't even tasted a cherry yet and there's not much time left before they're done with U-pick. So we went cherry picking today, our daughter told us of an orchard she found close enough to be considered.  It was a clean, well kept place that also offers raspberries, peaches, apples and tomatoes for U-pick.  We were in heaven!   But the problem with picking cherries is the pail fills so fast and easily we don't want to stop.  So we picked 18 pounds.

 There's an Adelaide somewhere in that tree.  She says she is "partly evolved spider monkey" because she will climb anything vertical.  Yes, she will.  Fearlessly.

 When Elizabeth needed a turn at the ladder, Adelaide just climbed the tree. We told Elizabeth next time the people who own the orchard will weigh her when she comes and weigh her again when she leaves because not many cherries make it into her bucket.  Long pause. "Really? They'd do that?"

 Back at home I tried to interest Elizabeth in pitting them but you can see by the size of the bowl she didn't take to this messy task.  I'll do it tomorrow.  It's so squirty!

 It was much more fun dipping them in chocolate.  Much more fun.

Oh, and taste testing.  That, too. That's what you do with cherries!

 After all the action we needed a quiet creative break.  Elizabeth was painting birds

 While Adelaide was writing a book about a tiger.