Jun 11, 2008

Do you know what these berries are?

We have two trees that have these luscious looking berries on them. I have NO idea what the berries are! I'd love to know if I can use them for jam or ?? any recipe. Anyone have any idea what they are? The trees are about 7 or 8 years old, maybe 12 feet high, and were planted on their own (we didn't plant them and they weren't here when we moved here 20 years ago). If you know, please tell me! These trees are VERY prolific -- just look at all these berries on the ground going to waste!



It's now 10:20 am, and I've been up since 5:00 and gotten SO much done! I love it! I just love having a good, productive day.

I woke up at 5:00 because right before bed I heard the weather report saying it was going to be 57 degrees last night. I wanted to get up early and open up windows and air out the house. I love my central air, but after a short while, the house just feels "stuffy" to me, and I look forward to times when I can open up all the windows and air the place out.

Since I was up, I put coffee on and decided to make use of the cool morning and get some gardening done. I re-set the alarm clock for Jeff, got his lunch packed and his breakfast made, and headed outside by 6:15. I went to the vegetable garden and got all three vegetable beds weeded and hoed by the time Jeff got up at 7:00. I sat down with him while he ate breakfast and had a second cup of coffee, then headed back outside as soon as he left for work at 8:00. I filled the sprayer up with insecticide (sorry to all those who are cringing), and sprayed the 20 new trees we planted and my smaller ornamental shrubs and trees. Normally, I don't spray, but the cicadas are here in larger-than-normal numbers, and they will use small trees and ornamentals for something (laying eggs? hatching babies? I forget what...) and I didn't want to lose all those trees I planted. I also got all three perennial beds weeded (again!), and Weed-B-Gone sprayed in the driveway where weeds grow up between the cement slabs. I also sprayed insecticide around the perimeter of the house, the deck, the patio and the garden shed -- simply as ant prevention.

It felt so great to get all this done by 10am! Now I'm going to spend some time doing laundry and hanging it out (it'll be back up to the mid-80's by this afternoon), a quick trip to WallyWorld for tension curtain rods so I can sew a skylight cover in Jeff's bathroom. We always put one up in the master bedroom during the summer months -- it really helps keep the bedroom cooler. I also want to pick up some potting soil and transplant some houseplants that are looking a little gloomy these days. If I can get all that done today -- I've had a great day!
The vegetable garden is looking good! I've got blossoms on several tomato plants and one green pepper plant. Eggplants are looking really healthy. Zucchini's just poked up through the soil, but green beans, black beans and cucumber seeds may have rotted from all the rain we've had. I'm going to replant them as soon as I finish blogging.

5 comments:

Rose said...

They look like mulberries to me...I don't care for them and don't know of anyone that uses them to make anything. I will be watching to see if anyone else does actually use them...

Anonymous said...

could not find your email address--try looking up mulberries. i think you might find a match. if so, yes they are edible and messy. my cousin and i used to pick and eat them when we weren't supposed to and never understood how come my aunt would always know and we'd get in trouble. Maybe it was something about the staining on our hands and mouths and clothes that were a giveaway. hahaha. Pamela
Keep blogging I really enjoy and look forward to
reading your blog each time.

Unknown said...

Joan, do you think they are blackberries? I couldn't zoom in on the picture, but they look like blackberries to me.

Productive mornings are the best!

Anonymous said...

they look like mulberries. we used to get up on a ladder and pick them to eat - i would get a second opinion though!

Anonymous said...

Wow you did have a very productive morning! I wish we had a little of the cooler weather down here.

I think the tree is a Mulberry but I've never used them for anything. I know folks do make Mulberry Jelly.