Rescue mission

About the only farm work that got done today was picking blueberries. And even that I wouldn't call farm work exactly. I picked about 7-8 quarts after work today and I plan to freeze around 8-10 quarts for personal use so I really just picked for Mike and I. Ed will probably pick tomorrow for market on Saturday and there are plenty of berries to pick.

One of the daily farm chores that needs done is to check the blueberry bushes. All 5 rows of bushes are covered with netting to keep the birds from eating them and although the netting goes to the ground, birds do get underneath and get trapped. Today's bird rescue count was 4. One cat bird, two juvenile robins and thanks my trusty Peterson's guide, a juvenile Baltimore Oriole. Of course Molly the Brittany went on foot patrol with me and decided that chasing the trapped birds was a sport. With a combination of old age deafness and selective hearing setting in, it took quite a bit of yelling on my part to stop the chase. But she did stop and then just watched in amusement as I released the birds one by one. Looks like perhaps a deer may have gotten caught up in the netting as well because one section has several bushes that look "trampled" with broken canes. I will have to remember to prune those next pruning session.

I think this weekend I may have to whip up a batch of "To die for blueberry muffins". Follow the link to the terrific allrecipes.com submission. I have made this twice for the local county fair and won "Best in Muffins" both times. The only difference I make is that I double the main recipe, but do not double the topping part. There is plenty there without doubling. The recipe is best with fresh blueberries, but I have used my own frozen berries too in the winter. This recipe is a real keeper!