Picking Beans

This week, or was it last week? (It's bad when the days run together, but what about when entire weeks become lost and hazy?) Lily and I went to our friends' 1/4 acre farm on Ebey Island to help pick green and yellow beans and I could have sworn it was this week, but now that I'm looking back on the days I'm pretty sure it was last week. Does that mean I'm only one week behind, or that I'm only aware of losing one week? I swear I lost most of my brain cells when Lily was born. Do they every come back?

Okay, I'm straying way too far from a garden post here. Lily and I did go to pick beans, or at least that's what I thought we were going to do. At first Lily was thrilled to be there. She had her new tennis shoes on for the first time and loved waddling up and down the long rows, usually looking at her feet more than ahead of her. The fun didn't last long.

Their farm is right near highway 2 and as soon as Lily heard the noise of multiple cars and large, lumbering trucks going back and forth, she became Cling-on. She has this oddly strong sense of hearing or some feeling in her bones. I swear this kid hears airplanes in the sky long before I do and they freak her out. She'll immediately stop whatever she's doing and throw herself at me. I don't even have to hold onto her because she's attached like Velcro. The sound of the traffic over Ebey Island was very similar to planes flying overhead, only it was more constant. Fun.



Ever pick beans with one hand while carrying around a 24lb whining kid with the other? Not so easy on the knees,or the back or arms. Not so easy. Plus it was HOT. And of course Lily only likes wearing a hat for about 10 seconds; then the novelty is gone. So I was worried about her Lily-white skin burning. Eventually she got a hold of the camera and seemed to be happy for a few minutes during which time I got to pick a few meals-worth of delicious beans. I'm not sure Dean and Jenny will ever want us to return. Whew! I'm exhausted just remembering it all.