Berries

In late summer, our woods are clothed with thickets of blackberries. I arm our boys with a basket and send them out to collect as many as they can find. Matt has become a champion blackberry-finder, scouring the woods and getting every last ripe berry from among the thorns.

Nolan, however, is wary of plants. Terrified would be a more appropriate word- he won't even hold a flower without a lot of encouragement. He will, however, reach his arm in to devour blackberries by the dozen.

There is a wonderful spirit of sharing where blackberries are concerned. Matt lets Nolan have as many as he wants, and willingly heads back into the briers to gather more.

The boys even share with Pete the Cat, who was rather rude and refused to try the proffered berry. Cats are so stuck up.

Once all of the ripe blackberries had been located and eaten, Nolan found other uses for the basket. It did help to keep all of the pesky gnats from swarming around his head, so perhaps he's on to something.

In a few short weeks, the golden days of summer will be gone. We'll definitely miss them!