Strawberries!

Aunt Hetty was sitting in her summer-house at the water's edge, knitting a sock and keeping a look-out for them. They moored the boat at her little landing-stage and stepped ashore.

"My dears! Lovely to see you," said Aunt Hetty, rolling up her wool and impaling the ball on her needles as though she was skewering a piece of mutton to make a shashlik (shishkabob). "Come along - we're having tea in the strawberry-bed."

"In the strawberry-bed?"

"Yes. It's a new idea that occurred to me last time Vin was here. You know how much better they always taste when you eat them straight off the plants? Only the drawback is, there's never any cream and sugar. So I thought, why not take the cream and sugar under the nets with us? We tried it, and it's a capital plan. I can't imagine why I never thought of it before." She took Vin's arm and led the way across the lawn. The others followed, exchanging telegraphically, with a smile, their amused affection for Aunt Hetty. Glorious woman: nobody else would have had an idea like that - or rather, nobody else would have put it seriously and efficiently into practice, complete with table, chairs, silver tea-pot, and cucumber sandwiches. She had even had the nets heightened on poles to give more head-room.

-- From "Mrs. Miniver" by Jan Struthers


Our Earliglow berries have been in for a week now. We've enjoyed strawberry shortcake, ice cream with strawberries, and sun-warmed berries right off the plants (the best way, of course). This afternoon I made a pile of chocolate-covered strawberries to take with us to Game Night at my sister's. A luscious treat, indeed.