Summer!

This morning, I opened to the door to put the Netflix envelope in the mailbox, the air smelled like summer. Warm and dusty. Don't you love the way scent takes us back to a time and place in such clarity?

Starting from age 11, I worked for local farmers. We picked strawberries: pole beans; boysenberries; and thronless, evergreen blackberries. We also weeded newly planted fields and 'trained' the blackberries. (Training blackberries consisted of grabbing a cane, bending it under the first tension wire, tying it to to the top tension wire, and clipping off the end of the cane about six inches above the wire.)
Farmer Robert C grew the berries and hired a group of us junior and high school girls to weed and train as well as pick the berries.  Other farmers used squads of boys or hired migrant workers.  Bob just said he got his monies worth with the girls.  We laughed, sang, flirted with the irrigation boys, told jokes, got into arguments and in the end.......GOT THE JOB DONE!
Mom was our boss.  She ran a tight ship.  You goofed off too much and she would just have a talk with you and you didn't goof off anymore.  She knew when we needed a break from the work and would set up a surprise with Bob of some pop or ice cream at the end of the day.  She was fair, even, and furnny to work with.
I earned enough money to buy a nice school wardrobe and set aside a growing savings account. Good memories and times.
Cherries are available now.  That means boysen, marion, and young berries will be available very soon.  Yum, cobblers and pies!  I've got the get Mom's recipe for 'Tar and Rocks' from Debbie, I've misplaced mine.  I'll post it over on Cooking in Nana's Kitchen in the next day or so.  You will love it!
Summer's here and I'm keeping cool!  Hope you are as well.