Tender Mercies

For me, picking blueberries is the quintessential summertime activity. It is one of my most cherished activities when the sun is hot and the days are long. This pastime of mine was first discovered while living in Alaska where there were many wild blueberry patches. It was there that residents would secretly head out to their coveted patch each August and pick to their heart's content, hoping that their prized spot would not become a crowd favorite next year, thus allowing them to bask in the glory of their wild berries year after year.  I made a bucket list of the summertime activities that I wanted to do with Marshall this year, and berry picking was on the list. I had heard that blueberries were in season during June in Kansas, so my inner-berry-picking-clock had already started going off. I knew I needed to go soon! Be it a coincidence or not, the day after I made my bucket list, my dear friend Kristie invited me to go blueberry picking with her the next day. I totally...

 Don't mind the crooked picture. The rock obviously needs to practice his photography skills! The weekend forecasted temperatures in the mid to high-70s.  Yes, summer decided to stay for at least one more weekend, so we had to take advantage of it.  Only in Alaska do you take advantage of every summery moment, and dread winter when it is only August 10th, while those in the lower 48 are suffering the worst drought the United States has seen in years. So after work on Friday afternoon, we drove an hour north of Fairbanks to the Chena Recreation area and began our 15 mile hike of Granite Tors.  We made it an overnight backpacking trip so that we would be able to enjoy ourselves a little more.  This was my first backpacking trip in about 5 years, so I was pretty excited.  Lucky for me, my husband is a stud when it comes to camping/hiking stuff, and he packed my pack for me, so I didn't have to worry about it. 15 miles ma...