Cranberry Picking!

This year we picked wild cranberries for the very first time!  Joe found a great marsh that they grow in when he was out hunting one day last year.  So this fall we returned twice for wild cranberry picking. It especially fun because we have to canoe to get there. The first time though it was crazy windy and Joe and I paddled our behinds off (against the wind) trying to make it to the place where he knew the cranberries were.  But we made it and managed to pick some great berries.  But then on the way back we got curious about some spots that looked similar in terrain and discovered that there are cranberries growing all over the place along the marshy shore!:)  A little late, but at least we found out!  We meant to go back shortly after that to pick more, but somehow didn't make it until the end of October.  Sadly, because we got so much rain here this fall, most of the berries were under water by that point (there were a few floaters, but not many).  Joe and I were soaked from our knees down, Joe dragged the kids over and through the water in an ice fishing sled, and we only got a small container of berries...but it was another one of those shared experiences for our little family...good memories!

On that second trip Lily documented some of our little adventure with her camera.  She was taking pictures to do a presentation for her homeschool group (which she didn't get to do because we got sick)...but it's still really fun that she got these pictures (from picking to making cranberry sauce at home).  Her camera was used for all of the pictures and with the exception of the few she was in Lily was the photographer and did a pretty great job (in fact, some of those pictures of my paddle are pretty amazing)!