Mulberries

Growing up, one of my favorite activities was picking mulberries in the summer. I don't remember if a family member introduced me to this fruit or if I just stumbled upon a tree. But I do remember that a tree was near my house (in someone else's yard). The tree was along the route I took when I walked to my best friend's house. We would stop under this tree and pick and pick and eat and eat. Our fingers would be stained as well as the bottom of my feet (I often went without shoes in the summer).
You hardly see mulberry trees. They exist, but most people don't look for them. I miss living near that tree. Another memory is that I discovered that a neighbor behind us had a mulberry tree too. The tree was very close to our backyard. How did I miss it all those years? When I finally discovered it, I climbed up the neighbor's fence and picked as many berries as I could reach. I remember stretching as far as I could and pulled the branches down so that I could gobble as many berries as possible.
Recently, I found an agricultural brochure for Greene County (where I grew up) that listed all the farms that were open to the public for various agribusiness (vegetables, llamas, goat cheese, fruit, etc). I found a listing for Middle Creek Farms - they have strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and mulberries! I called right away. Unfortunately, they don't let the public come out and pick, but they do sell the fruit fresh and in jelly form. But the man was very nice and acted like he might let me bring Abbie to pick strawberries if I turned out to be someone that could be trusted not to trample the plants. I told Abbie that she had to be on her best behavior today. This was a "try-out." I bought 5 pints of the mulberry jam (I've never had any), and we admired their large blueberry bushes.
They will let the public pick blueberries (if you get on the list) after they have fulfilled all of their commercial blueberry orders. I think we're on the list.
After that trip to their farm, my sister and I went to my dad's house. His birthday is today and he is 68! After we visited with him and cleaned his house, I went back with my sister to her house and showed her the jam that I bought. I gave her a jar, and she gave me a jar of cherry jelly that she had made. Then she said that they had a mulberry tree somewhere on their farm. I said, "Let's go!" My nieces and Abbie had never tasted a mulberry. They are much better than blackberries in my opinion. They are sweet and yummy. Not tart, there is no twang, not bitter either. Perfect! We found the tree, but we could not reach many of the branches. Luckily, a ladder was close by. Abbie enjoyed picked the berries off the limbs that we pulled down for her. I held the ladder while my tallest niece climbed up. We got about 8-10 oz of mulberries and ate them all! We plan to go back next year, maybe a week earlier.
What a find! What a trip down memory lane! Now if I just had a mulberry tree in my own yard...