Mulberry Hands!

I picked another quart of mulberries today. I decided to venture over to a vacant lot on the river that has a perimeter of trees with at least one mulberry tree.



While picking, a man wandered over, "tell me those aren't mulberries!" he exclaimed. He was such an inspirational man, hope to see him and chat with him again. He spoke of people asking him "how does a city boy live around here?" Apparently he lived in a larger city for a number of years, but his father is from this area. His father is black, his mother is Indian and they believe in living off the land, raising your own food and practicing herbal medicine. I believe his name was Eddie. Eddie told me how to make delicious mulberry wine and said that the blueberries will be ready to pick soon and they also make a nice wine. He talked about going out into the woods, and if you smell turpentine you dig down into the grounds for the roots of either sassafras or sarsaparilla (can't remember now) You let the roots dry for about a week, they can be used to treat fever and other symptoms. I think I could sit and talk with him all day!

First Batch of Mulberries

Two days ago we had some very heavy wind, so yesterday I decided it was time to begin picking the mulberries. Outside I went with a large mason jar in hand and began to pick. There were many good berries on the ground, that had fallen from the winds.

A little glimpse from within the mulberry trees, you can see the railing of the chicken house.



Mulberry trees are an excellent source of food during the summer for our native birds, squirrels, oppossum, etc. The fruit, which is not actually a berry, but a collective fruit of swollen, fleshy flowers staggers it's ripe goodness. Currently, there are ripe berries, ripening berries and berries which have not even begun to ripen.



Can you tell by the purple droppings that the birds are enjoying the abundance of mulberries as well?



I was able to collect almost a quart of mulberries. These were brought inside, washed, layed to dry on a towel overnight and then layed onto a baking pan to freeze. Thanks to cmoore for this trick - the berries are all frozen separately instead of in one big clump!