Flying Purple Berry Eaters

 

Mulberry trees grow here with abandon, and indeed, some consider them a “weed tree.” The fruit comes in various colors – we have trees on our property that produce white fruit and those that produce purple fruit. There is a tree with white fruit near the fork of our driveway and there is a purple one not too far from the back door.

The fruit is just starting to ripen.

 The mulberries do indeed resemble berries–blackberries in particular–and they have a mild, pleasant taste. For a few years after we first moved here, I attempted to make jam out of them. I even got instructions from the Agricultural Extension Service on how to do it, but what I ended up with was mulberry syrup. Which tasted fine on pancakes, but I eventually decided that standing out there and picking the fruit and then processing it was not worth the time and effort.

The big birds—Jays, Robins, and Brown Thrashers—and the small birds—Cedar Waxwings and Wrens—and all the others in between love the mulberries and they flock to the trees to gobble them up and carry them off to feed their babies

What goes in eventually comes back out, and a lot of it ends up on the cars.

Purple bird poop…and it is not a pretty sight.