Dawn posted about her husband and kids finding mulberries on the trees near their campsite, which reminded me of my own mulberry story (don't you have one, too?). It's a story of birthdays, and self-sufficiency, and disillusionment, all rolled into one.
You see, mulberries are ripe here at the same time as David's birthday; so, many years ago, when he was a baby, Theo and Anna and I picked some and saved them for a couple of days so we could use them to color the frosting for David's cake. I was crowing with pride over my resourcefulness as we mashed the hand-picked wild berries (free! not artificial! Just like the pioneers!) into our all-natural confectioner's-sugar frosting - yes, I was practically overcome with the ingenuity of it all, until I noticed several minuscule worms (worms!) (teeny-tiny worms!) crawling in the bowl.
This discovery would not have been quite so traumatic had I not had a spoonful of said frosting in my mouth at the time.
Alas! This occurred in the dark ages before blogging and before digital cameras, or I most certainly would have gotten a picture of that frosting, in all its freshly-hatched larval glory. After I had stopped gagging and spitting and generally retching into the kitchen sink, that is....which scene was probably photo-worthy itself.
So, have a great Fourth, y'all! Just make sure to look at your food before you eat it, okay?
I do have a mulberry story actually. We planted one in honor of the Middle Child's birth. So back at our old house in California hopefully still grows a 16 year old mulberry tree filled with wormy berries.
ReplyDeleteblahh, ack, patooey, . . . that's all I have to say.
ReplyDeletehappy 4th of july!!!
ReplyDeleteand thanks for the mulberry story...wanted to go pick blueberries out in the woods this weekend. maybe not.
franzi
We had a giant mulberry tree over the henhouse when the girls were little. They loved to fight the chickens for the berries as they dropped. Me? I thought mulberries were way too bland. I ate the dewberries that grew at the back of the barn, which the girls wouldn't touch because they were so tart.
ReplyDeleteWe used to play with and sometimes eat mulberries when I was a kid. Till we noticed all the tiny gray bugs that hid inside them. Blech.
ReplyDeleteNot sure what mulberries look like, but making homemade frosting and then finding worms sounds like something I would do.
ReplyDeleteMy mom and Aunt Dot used to buy blueberries from an organic farm...I stopped eating them when I noticed the worms that populated about half of what we bought!
ReplyDeleteThe folks at the health food store will tell you that those moth larvae in the granola is good for you...more protein...YUCK.
Blessings on the fourth! E
I do prefer that the protein I ingest not be moving at the time, don't you?
ReplyDeleteew, ew, ewwwwww....
ReplyDeleteHahaha! I have a similar beach plum story... ah, nature. It kinda stinks sometimes!
ReplyDeleteI don't have a mulberry story, however, when I was growing up, we had a worm infested cherry tree.
ReplyDeleteOne day, when we weren't home, my uncle came over and picked some cherries from our tree, and took them home.
He had eaten most of what he picked before my cousin came home and informed him that they were full of worms.
From then on, he always asked before stealing our fruit.
Have a wonderful holiday-don't eat any worms!
ReplyDeleteMulberries bring back fond memories of my childhood in NE- I was sorely disappointed to move to NE OR and find only tart blackberries and raspberries, with prickles to get past. I miss the line of mulberry trees across the street.
ReplyDeleteHappy 4th!
Gaaaaaa! Now I'm glad I don't have a mulberry story.
ReplyDeleteBlech. {{{shudders}}}
ReplyDeleteHappy 4th!
I can't help laughing at that story - only because I've been there too often myself.
ReplyDeleteIt's all natural at least. You've got that.
You mean you stopped them from growing up to be silkworms? Aww...
ReplyDeleteJust a little extra protein, as my venerable old pop would say... (The pioneers wouldn't 've batted an eye!) Bless ya, though, I'd have gagged, myself! Happy 4th!
ReplyDeleteEeeeewwwww!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThnks for sharing!
I wouldn't know a Mulberry bush if it fell on me!
ReplyDeleteHappy 4th!
Well, it would be the one with the tiny worms on it...
ReplyDeleteThat happened to me once. I was eating my friend's totally organic unsprayed cherries and had eaten quite a few before I noticed the tiny white worms. I prefer insect spray to insects. Haven't ever eaten an organic cherry since. I totally get ya sista!
ReplyDeleteDon't look, just eat.
ReplyDeleteOh ew. Extra protein? Trying to put a positive spin on it...
ReplyDeleteThat is just wrong!!!!
ReplyDeleteOne of these days I will have to share my blueberry piefilling, cockroach debacle!(sp)
Not a good day in my life.
This reminds me of the awful night I served my new husband fresh steamed broccoli with a little gnat nest in one of the florets. He checked all his veggies for months after that.
ReplyDeleteGROSS!