A little Bit of OCD

29 July 2015

OCD: (n) short for "Obsessive Compulsive Disorder". Referring to a condition in which a person repeats an action over and over, finding it difficult or even impossible to stop the repetitive action. 

So we went blackberry picking today. We took 3 buckets along: one for the Huffer, one for the Cat, and one for me. And then it was off to Southlands: the land of blackberries-a-plenty.  

Here's the thing about blackberry picking: the bushes are REALLY prickly. To protect ourselves, we wear jeans, a jacket, gloves, socks, and shoes (or rubber boots). The best time to go blackberry picking is early in the season. Before the fruit flies are swarming, the bushes are full of juicy spiders, and wasps are flying about everywhere. The best day to choose is a day when it is sunny. That's because the berries ripen quickly and they taste like sunshine inside...

Here's the thing. When you get to the berry bushes, I see berries everywhere. So black. So juicy. So many. And the picking begins. 

Once I start, I find it really, really hard to stop. The Huffer and the Cat, however, get hot and tired and fed up. They are always begging to go home while I'm busy trying to pick just a few more... 

Here are some tips to keep me a little bit under control and to get home a little more quickly:

- pick a lot of berries and fill those buckets in a hurry (that doesn't normally happen)

- take along smaller buckets (we did that this year)

- take fewer buckets (good luck trying to convince me to leave some at home!)

Today, we ended up picking 2 buckets partly full. I think I did a great job of leaving Southlands in a reasonable amount I time. I could have stayed so much longer. Not that I suffer from OCD or anything...

~mom