Fresh, handpicked - by my own hands even - BLUEBERRIES.   - I just had a bowl of cereal with my blueberries on top and reflected on my my last FREE DAY.

Fridays are my rejuvenation days.  No work.  No email, No phones - unless I make the call for personal use.  Fridays are my FREE DAY to do what nourishes and nurtures me.   So this past Friday I did what I love to do the most -

EXPLORE!

 
I have been wanting to pick blueberries for years.  In the past I have missed the window, gone to non-pick your own places, or have been traveling.  Well this year was different. 

It all started while I was kicking back at Starbucks by the Galleria in Edina after my early morning Yoga class.  I was sitting outside relaxed casually reading and watch people venture in an out - mostly in their morning rush.  All the tables were full and I had this table with three chairs I wasn’t using.  

(This is going to sound like one of those out of the box stories - well it kind of was, because I was in an out of the box place in my mind -  Everyone wants to sit outside.  I can choose to be resistant or responsive.  (and if you don’t know what I am referring to read Leadership and Self Deception by the Arbinger Institute)  

This man walk out laden with papers and briefcase and beverage and at a loss.   "You are welcome to sit with me," I say to the man who seems stunned and pleased at the same time.   This was a man on a mission, mailing by hand a number of packages to clients, or potential clients.   I was curious about his process and who he was so I asked gentle probing questions and found out that he was a sales man of medical products - correction- redistributed products of a medical nature.   Bizarre and intriguing stuff in itself.   Anyway.  We chat about contacts and leads and manual versus electronic organizing - mostly me asking questions and him answering.  I get the impression that he can’t figure me out.   He finally asks what I am doing here and share with him that this is my free day.  This catches his attention but he is still a man on a mission and he’s off. 

 However, just before he leaves I ask him "If you were to have a free day to explore new places locally that not many people see where would you go?"  His whole countenance changes.  This palpable relaxation takes over and he suggests that I go to Lake City on the Mississippi.  He returns to the table, opens his sachel and pulls out a map and proceeds to share with me how to get there.   I thank him and he asks my name.   He walks, almost floats off on his way to his appointment.   Change what you thinking about and your perception of the world changes.   

Thus explains the destination which called my attention to BlueBerries.   FARMS are along the way.  So Look up Pick Your Own blueberries in Minnesota and find this fabulous farm called Rainbow Ridge Farm about fifteen minutes S of Hastings (651) 437-7837.  Their blueberries have seen only water, food and sunshine. No pesticides.  You are expected and encouraged to eat and "sample" them as you go.   WHAT FUN!   I walked off with three pounds of fresh picked blueberries.   It is a little know spot but the local families bring their kids to pick for an summer afternoon activity.    Blueberries are probably one of the easiest berries to pick - no thorns and medium in height bushes.  So go get-em before their gone.  In the Midwest the season runs from Mid June to early August.