was feeling kinda munchie this morning, so i pulled out my plastic container of blueberries from the fridge and started rummaging through for the firm, juicy ones, when my fingers stumbled upon a leaf, right there in the midst of all the blueberries. it caught me by such surprise, which, in turn, surprised me even more. why should it be such a surprise to find a leaf among the blueberries? it's not too much different from finding a chicken bone in your soup, or a piece of eggshell in your french toast. little, organic reminders that what you are consuming is not too far removed from its source. i love these reminders, they make me feel connected to the earth, somehow.
so anyways, finding the leaf got my curiosity brewing and prompted me to read the lid of the blueberry container. It said "Naturipe Farms. blueberries, bleuets (french, i'm assuming). PRODUCT DU CHILI (french again.)" and then it gave the address for Naturipe Farms--Naples, FL.
wait a minute. the blueberries were grown in Chili, flown to Florida where they are packaged with a french label, and shipped to the costco down the street in la habra? and the little, lone leaf came all that way, just for the ride?
i know it's strange, but i'm glad the leaf showed up in my blueberries. that little leaf brought me comfort, it did. i don't think i would have thought about how these particular blueberries came to be in my fridge, how hard so many people had to work to get them to where i would choose them from a huge pile of blueberry containers and place them in my wirey costco cart. while i ate my handfuls of blueberries, this morning in my kitchen, hovered over the clear, plastic container, i pictured the berries still attached to the bush--or is it a vine?--(i'm a city girl). i imagined the blueberry field, smelling all ripe and leafy fresh, and blue. and i could almost feel the warmth of the chilean sun on the strong, perspiring backs of the berry pickers. it's strange, i know. that all this came from finding a lost little leaf in my blueberries. but i'm glad it did.
the leaf in my blueberries
3 comments:
When u told me to read ur blog today and said it waz a little wierd..when i read this i totally got what u were saying.. i loved it..but i think u wewre a tad off of what u said its not just a little wierd! IT IS REALLY REALLY WIERD AND RANDOM!
I love you Mom!!
love,
Beej!
beej...be nice to your mom! i liked it. brings you back to reality. thinking about things that you don't typically. not weird, cool. :)
Made me think, too. We go through life without really thinking, taking much for granted. Thanks for the new perspective.
Went to Costco on my way home from work and bought some blueberries. :-)
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