Anna in the Blueberry Patch
I wonder when Bob Dylan wrote Tangled Up In Blue if he was thinking about the challenges of bird netting?Of course not- but the song has come to mind over the last few weeks as we harvest GALLONS of the yummy treats from our 6 meager Highbush blueberries.
Each year- we contrive a netting scenario to keep the birds out and give us ease of picking. Each year- I find more things I HATE about the darn stuff. If it is not my buttons getting stuck in the netting it is a hair barette- and let me tell you folks- getting your hair pulled out by the roots is no fun when already sweating under a berry bush! Two years ago we came home from vacation to find a black snake trapped in the mesh and he was well rotted.... EEEEWWWW!
My niece Anna is up for 2 weeks and could not wait to dive in and eat more than she picked- It was not long until I heard cries for help as her pants button was stuck in the netting.
I tried to convince myself the netting was not necessary until I viewed the copious amounts of bird poop that have accumulated on the bars holding the netting in place. Little rascals are just sitting up there waiting for a chance to break in!.
Anna has returned to us this year at age 6 with a whole new set of phobias! Apparently by age 6 I had also developed a fear of all things buggy. While she has never been stung, she is deathly afraid of bees. Any slight buzzing sends her into a running, flailing fit - which I might add is difficult to do when trapped under bird netting but quite humorous to behold.
So, last night, Aunt Shannon convinced her that singing songs would scare the bees away- what it accomplished- well she could not hear the bees over the melodic stylings of Ole Suzannah, Daisy Daisy and many other childhood favorites. Since Auntie Shannon used to into fits of catatonia over bugs, I can hardly talk can I? I have tried to educate her about honeybees and beneficial insects- but right now they are all "gross". This is the same kid who took great pleasure in mashing tater beetles and squash bugs in her fingers.
Today our drought like conditions have ended with some much needed rain- so I guess it is time to go out and weed.
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