Well, today was the perfect day for picking berries (beautiful and warm but with a good breeze) so I ambled out to the back yard and shooed the chickens to one side. (They like to peck at your toes, which is okay if you are wearing boots or shoes, but I was wearing flip flops because they are easier to wash off if you step in something they left behind). So far today I have picked two gallons of blueberries and a quart of blackberries. I have the bench out there to sit on as I am still not that steady on my feet and probably won't be for another couple weeks. Recovery takes time, I know this, but it sure would be nice to do things normally. At least I am healing well.
The Italian plums are starting to come on. They probably won't be ready until mid-September but it is nice to see how loaded the branches are. The apple tree has a lot of fruit on it, too, though it likely won't be ready until October. I wish DS wasn't allergic to apples. We usually end up giving away what the rest of us can't eat. No one here likes the texture of applesauce so there's not much point trying to preserve it. Usually we give it to the neighbors who have given us something earlier or will give us something later in the season. One neighbor has philberts and walnuts, another has grapes, and one always grows too many carrots. Then we progress to the free box at the end of the drive.
I've been reading some blogs on urban harvesting where people go around picking fruit from city trees that were planted to beautify the city, but the fruit always falls to the ground and goes to waste, and then they contribute it to the local foodbanks.
I found a great blog last night and have been reading it for hours. It's called
It's been a lovely day. My in-laws came and got the kids and took them to the family picnic.
August 14th, 2011 at 01:08 am 1313284087
August 14th, 2011 at 02:11 am 1313287883
My kids loved it.
August 14th, 2011 at 04:21 am 1313295718
We have City Fruit doing the in-city harvesting. It sounds like you and your neighborhood are doing a similar thing - barter and trade.