I’m an old bear.

Right now is like a farmer-Crystal dream come true. All the berries we grow–strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries–are ripe at the same time! This never happens. I don’t even understand how it happened, but it has been a very strange year, as they all are these days, I suppose. Anyway, I am well aware that is probably not a good sign that things are this out of rhythm in the grand scheme of things but am in my own kind of heaven having all of these berries at once.

Of course, the strawberries are winding down, but they are still producing a lot of small berries. Today, when I got home from taking our son to music camp, Ron told me we had to pick blueberries. I was like, “You mean raspberries?” But he meant blueberries. They are gorgeous too. So gorgeous!

All of these berries are so gorgeous that I actually hurt myself today. I got greedy.

I have been having a few health struggles again in the last week. I am trying to figure it out, but having an autoimmune disease is all very confusing to me still. I pushed my body a little too far and really hurt my back picking strawberries. The berries are tiny, and there are hundreds. It’s tedious picking but so worth it because those little berries have had some sun here at the end of the season and are packed with flavor. I saw a beautiful berry patch in the far part of the extra-large raised bed and pulled a muscle in my neck.

I was so mad at myself. I know I can’t reach the far parts of the beds and have to get Ron or our son to reach them, but I got carried away because of the beautiful berries. I’m greedy for sure.

Later, Ron went outside to pick blueberries while I sat on the couch and watched television. This is something I never do, and it felt weird. I was also curious about these blueberries are that were supposedly ripe so early, so I ended up back outside with the plan to just watch Ron pick blueberries.

But then I saw them! Oh, readers, they were like dream blueberries. All of this rain has done them justice. We have eight bushes, and I have certainly never seen such an amazing year of blueberries. We may try to put up the nets. I am not sure though. I like to share a little with the birds. I guess it will depend upon how much the birds are willing to share with us.

Seeing those beautiful blueberries glisten in the raindrops made me forget myself again. I grabbed a quart basket from Ron and just kind of lunged at the berries. I winced in pain. I forgot how much my neck hurt. I whimpered.

“I’m like an old bear, grumbling around but needing to get to my berries” I said to Ron. “There’s nothing better to me than these berries.” I reminded Ron of my reoccurring dreams about bears, like that was evidence I was, indeed, really a bear.

“You are a bear,” he said. “And you grew up without your berries, but here you are now, in Maine with all of these berries.”

He was smiling at me so big but with worry behind the smile. My health struggles scare him. I have to get better. I am certain the berries are going to help.