See the tiny green cherries? I took this photo two weeks ago.
This the tree this morning. Looks like it has been decorated with red balls. I was hoping for a better shot, this one doesn't do it justice.
Here we go, this is a little better. You can see that the cherries are beginning to ripen. I picked a bowlful this morning and in two days I will pick again and they will all be gone by the end of the week. I had never had cherry trees until we moved here. when they start they ripen very fast and will over-ripen and fall to the ground if not harvested. The first time I picked I wasn't sure what was ready and what wasn't. Love of my life decided to help me out and pulled a very red one off the tree and popped it in his mouth. He spit it right back out and told me they weren't ready. These are not sweet cherries. They are tart cherries and used to cook with. They make wonderful cherry pies and freeze well.
They are easy to pick. I have found that if it is ready the cherry will come right off into your hand with no tugging involved. If they offer any resistance I leave them for the next picking. They are easy to spot.......they are red. I find myself circling the tree over and over and finding more each time. The trees aren't very tall and look a little "scrubby". When in blossom they are really lovely, but the wind blows the blossoms off quickly. They aren't really pretty trees as trees go. They provide very little shade, but cherry pie more than makes up for that.If you are wondering, as I did, why the birds haven't eaten them........... We have a huge mulberry tree almost in our back yard. I considered getting rid of it because of the mess it makes until I read somewhere that the birds prefer mulberries over other fruit. Welcome to my little eco system. Gemlin, the cat is curious, but like love of my life, it took only one little taste to leave cherries alone.
5 comments:
You're getting pretty good with that camera! We don't have any fruit trees so I ordered a dwarf orange tree this year. It's adorable but so far it's not done anything lol.
You do an amazing amount of work (in your "free" time!) I've been buying cherries at the grocery store for the last week. They're expensive , but a real treat.
At a previous house we had a mulberry tree surrounded by asphalt. The berries would ripen, fall off the tree, and ferment on the hot black surface. It was quite a sight to see the inebriated pigeons stagger around after eating the berries.
We bought Rainier cherries last week. For some reason I didn't look at the price, just threw them in the cart. When I got home I noticed they were $12 for the bag!
LP-Thanks, I am getting the hang of it. I prefer my old Nikon with my zoom lens. The digital has that time lapse after you press the button, so you don't always get the shot.
Kathy-I am happy that the mulberry tree is in the back. I can just imagine all that purple mess on the gravel out in front! I feel fortunate to have so many fruit trees.
LoL-I would have taken those cherries back, I'm afraid. I can't believe the cost of produce lately!
If you are able to keep a bunch of cherries they would be perfect in my Mead.
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