Winter Reds

Mulberries Up Close and Juicy

These three pictures (taken yesterday) are of a single mulberry tree growing next to my cottage. It is one of several trees which I originally believed to be Black mulberry trees (Morus nigra), and given Sam’s helpful info on how to distinguish mulberry trees (which I reposted yesterday), I now believe that my first hunch may have been correct.

These trees, while shade tolerant, appear to prefer full sun when they can get it. This particular specimen only gets sun in the evening (which is when these images were taken). They all have the leaning trunk Sam mentions, and the strongly cordate leaf shape. While some of the leaves occasionally have two or three irregular lobes, most do not.

And, as we can see in these pictures, the fruits ripen to a deep, dark purple. My friends the catbirds (Dumatella carolinensis) are busy in these trees right now, and the deer are right behind them!

What's that? You want more pin cherries?

I can’t help it – I just adore the pin cherries! They brought some of the first glimpses of autumn color this season, and they continue to brighten my days.

Here I was this morning, trying to comb through the overload of pictures I have to share with you, and what did I do? I took my camera out for my morning walk, and came back with another 150 images to work with! Sheesh.

I couldn’t decide what to share from the morning, so I figured I’d just give you some pin cherries (Prunus pensylvanica) for a Friday smile. All the lovely rain from last night gave us a beautiful misty morning - perfect for a walk in the woods.

Remember my thoughts on the “Pennsylvania Red” from when I first moved here? Autumn only reaffirms the natural expression of red in this land.

More to follow!