Archives
16/07: Take me to the river
Today, the sky was blue, and the sun shone – and it proved the perfect day to pick wild blueberries. A bunch of us went up, Zoe, Lizzie, the Cota boys and Amelia. We drove out onto the Altona flat rock – where the trees grow small on the shelves of limestone. Several other cars were already there, and earlier risers than us were making their way back to their vehicles carrying baskets of the little blueberries. So small, dwarfed in tour palm like little blue peas. I carried a dented old aluminum milk pail. The girls carried mason jars – a mistake as it turns out - as Zoe gathered and gathered for an unknown amount of time before finding the bottom of the old mason jar had cracked and come off entirely. Maybe it was that misfortune, or maybe it was just the breezes and the sun, but whatever it was the kids soon lost interest in picking and wandered the low-bush flipping stones and chasing one another.
Eventually we found ourselves at Woods falls, and we had the old swimming hole to ourselves. Someone had built a big stone damn across the river, where it flows away from the waterfall and the old mill foundation, making the swimming spot even deeper and easier to swim in. the kids were a little timid at first – but were soon skilled at climbing the slippery rocks, and passing through the waterfall. We alternated between the cool of the waterfall – flush with recent rains – and laying on the warm rocks like lizards.
Topping the day of were pies, and jars of Ball jars of Blueberry preserves – a perfect summer day.
