The Accidental Botanist

The other day, I had to drive both boys to school, and I was in a huge hurry, both for their sakes and for my own, so I practically skidded up to the door of the school, put the emergency blinkers on, and rushed to let Ian out of the car so that he could begin his school day, hopefully without being late. As he was getting out, he pointed to a bush at the edge of the school parking lot, which was rife with those little squishy red berries - well known to New England youth, and probably children all over the Northeast and beyond. These are berries that even I, as a lad, liked to squeeze between my fingers. And, in spite of the morning crunch, Ian made a very practical suggestion:

"Daddy, before you leave, you might want to pick a few of those berries for me and Daniel."

(September 22, 2011)