We've had a tree in our front yard that has borne some sort of berries from since we could remember. I'm not sure we really noticed it the first couple of years, though. When the berries appeared this summer, the kids were away, and I took it upon myself to look up the tree in our Peterson's guides. We have two guides, one for trees in North America, and one for edible plants. After I narrowed it down some, I checked out a Google image search for what I thought it was, just to make sure that the berries, foilage and bark looked like what was in our yard.
It appears that we have a native black cherry! (Prunus serotina) The fruit was very bitter last week, when I finally identified it. But this week, the berries are so ripe, they're falling off the tree. We're not cherry-picking; we're cherry-tickling! Now that Precious and Bubby are back, I have something to blog about; maybe I'll get around to it more often. Here are the kids enjoying the picking.
Picasa for this post (Here, you can also see a low branch on our P. serotina, perfect for adventurous three year-olds!)
It appears that we have a native black cherry! (Prunus serotina) The fruit was very bitter last week, when I finally identified it. But this week, the berries are so ripe, they're falling off the tree. We're not cherry-picking; we're cherry-tickling! Now that Precious and Bubby are back, I have something to blog about; maybe I'll get around to it more often. Here are the kids enjoying the picking.
I don't think I'll be doing a lot with these, other than eating them straight off the tree, at least until I get a pitter. They are tiny, about 3/8-inch diameter, and the pit is about half that-- not really worth the trouble. Plus that, they're very tart, which unfortunately makes them more ideal for cooking. But, the kids sure enjoy picking them! Then again, New Daddy had the idea for adding the cherries to vanilla ice cream. Now, that sounds like something I could do!
Precious brought me a nice handful, "to make a cherry pie." I think she still remembers the one from a few weeks ago. Bubby, for some reason, thinks the cherries need to go straight to the water. Outside, it was the water I let collect in the wheelbarrow. Inside, it was New Daddy's leftover water on the bedstand. Bubby plopped the cherry in the glass and came running down the hall to show off his cherry know-how.
Precious brought me a nice handful, "to make a cherry pie." I think she still remembers the one from a few weeks ago. Bubby, for some reason, thinks the cherries need to go straight to the water. Outside, it was the water I let collect in the wheelbarrow. Inside, it was New Daddy's leftover water on the bedstand. Bubby plopped the cherry in the glass and came running down the hall to show off his cherry know-how.
Picasa for this post (Here, you can also see a low branch on our P. serotina, perfect for adventurous three year-olds!)
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