Mulberries In The Park

Sometimes it takes me awhile to process things.  I’d like to think that I have so many thoughts going around in my head at one time that I overlook simple things. Like the names of streets and the fact that some actually mean something.  Recently, we were at the park by our house and my husband discovered the big tree we like to swing from is a Mulberry Tree.  Hmmm, just so happens the streets that runs by it is called Mulberry.  Maybe I should have recognized that tree 3 years ago when we first moved in, after all the hint is right there on the street sign.

Anyway, all is good because now we know.  And of course the pioneering spirit of my girls would not let all those wonderful mulberries go to waste.  So off we went to the park with step ladder and pails. The tree is huge and most of the mulberries are up high.  My girls helped each other out grabbing the branches and bringing them down closer.  Little One held the pail for gathering.

It was a lot of fun, but hard work too we discovered.  We picked a lot of little mulberries to fill our pail.

Our purple hands told the story of what we’d been up to that day.

We also learned that these berries are clusters of fruit and little tiny bugs like to live inside of them.  Not to be deterred by such talk we consulted the internet and found you just need to cover them with water and let them sit for a bit. Sure enough, after about 30 minutes all the little bugs floated to the top.

Then Em went to making her pie

Didn’t she do a beautiful job?  The taste was very sweet and yummy.

And my girls were so happy to find yet another thing that grows wild here in the Panhandle that they could put to good use.