Yesterday I walked through the playground area at school so I could open up a storage building. The middle school boys would be putting some stage pieces away there later in the day. As I went through the playground, I noticed there was a mulberry tree right in the middle of it. I love eating mulberries. I stopped and ate for about ten minutes.
The tree is full of ripe berries right now.
Later in the day, when I was giving the middle school boys instructions about carrying and storing the stage pieces, I told them to avoid the area under the mulberry tree because they would get fruits stuck in the treads of their shoes.
One of the boys: Can we eat the berries?
Me: No.
Boy: Are they poisonous?
Me: No. They’re delicious.
Boy: Why can’t we eat them?
Me: You’ll all be standing under the tree forever.
They ate the berries anyway. For some of them, it was their first time tasting mulberries. They stood under the tree forever. They loved them. I do too. I think they’re the best cluster-type berry in the world – way better than raspberries or blackberries. They’re so much sweeter, and their seeds are very soft.
I think I’ll be going out to the playground some more in the next few days…
Ha! Your advice to them was hilarious! They will always remember when Mr. Royuk warned them about mulberries.
All our playground serves is pretend ice cream, and it’s not very flavorful.
I’ve never had a mulberry.
How interesting. I would love to find a tree with you and see what you think when you taste one. They’re in season right now. By July, all the fruits will be gone.
We had a mulberry tree on the farm when I grew up……DELICIOUS!!! I, too, could stand there for a long time and “eat”…..We also had a blanket specifically for “shaking” the mulberry branches/tree to get the fruit instead of picking individually. The blanket was used ONLY for that because it was soooooo permanently stained after a “good shake”….. I can’t remember what mom/grandma made out of this delicious fruit (maybe jelly) I do remember just eating them in a bowl. Great memories that have been “stirred” or “shaken” up this morning of my growing up years!! Thanks For That…..<3 Aunt Bev 🙂 P.S. I know your dad will remember this, too!!
“You may raid the tree that hangs over into our back yard any day, Mr. Royuk – they make our feet and fur purple when we go out back to do our ‘business’.” –Sonny and Augie Frey