My Mother likes to tell the story of how, when hugely pregnant with me, she sat down and ate strawberries….all the strawberries my Father and Grandfather had just picked. She couldn’t stop herself, she says, and attributes this hormonal induced binge to my passionate love of this early summer fruit.

I have just returned from spending a bit of time on my knees in a form of prayer…..kneeling on straw, my hands moving swiftly and firmly under the green leaves of the strawberry rows, harvesting this precious red, berry. Carried out to the field by tractor and wagon, we pickers lined up, our brown waxed boxes under our arms, waiting to be assigned our row for kneeling and plucking. Instructions:" Knees are the only way to go. Don’t try to bend over….you’ll only hurt your back. Leave a little of the stem and crown on the berry it helps them last longer. Enjoy…..pick as much as you want and call for another box when you need one. When you are finished, plant a red flag so the next pickers will know where to begin."

We each walked toward our row with anticipation. As my friend and I picked, we talked, continuing the conversation we began in the car. The longer we picked, our "neighbor pickers" began to join in the conversation. We laughed and talked as our fingers became stained with the juice of the berries. In less than an hour, I had three full boxes of luscious, ripe sweetness. I stood up from my row and saw how very little I had traveled, how much was left for another person. I  think I could have kept picking all day.

But now the work really begins. These gifts of the Earth must be washed….gently, of course. Jam will be made, perhaps a pie, and others will be frozen for a time in January when I will reach into the freezer and pull out…. a memory of June 22nd, a cool morning, a hint of rain in the air, a good friend at my side, fruit falling quietly into my palm.

Still others must be eaten…..right now.   After all, the apple, or in this case the strawberry doesn’t fall far from the vine!

"God said, ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the the face of the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And it was so. God saw everything that was made, and indeed, it was very,very good.’"  Genesis 1

Have a fabulous weekend……………