April 9, 2005

• Here We Go Round The Mulberry.......Tree?

  
  

  MULBERRY:
  .... The botanical name is MORUS, from the Greek MOROS, a fool; so
  called, we are told in the HORTUS ANGLICUS, because "it is reputed to be
  the wisest of all flowers, as it never buds 'till the cold weather is past and gone."

  
  

  

  
  

  I am blessed to have one of these beautiful trees in my new back yard. Apparently they produce a massive quantity of berries that can be eaten as is, frozen, made into pies or jams or jellies. This is what the berry looks like:

  
  

  

  
  

  Kind of reminds me of a blackberry, but on a tree rather than a bush. There is a certain joy and bonding with nature gained from nourishing yourself and your loved ones from something you have tended to and grown with your own hands. It seems to reinforce the miracle of life that surrounds us every day and sadly is often overlooked in the hustle and bustle of every day life.

  
  

  MULBERRY
  O, the mulberry-tree is of trees the queen!
    Bare long after the rest are green;
      But as the time steals onwards, while none perceives
        Slowly she clothes herself with leaves--
          Hides her fruit under them, hard to find.
            . . . .
              But by and by, when the flowers grow few
                And the fruits are dwindling and small to view--
                  Out she comes in her matron grace
                    With the purple myriads of her race;
                      Full of plenty from root to crown,
                        Showering plenty her feet adown.
                          While far over head hang gorgeously
                            Large luscious berries of sanguine dye,
                              For the best grows highest, always highest,
                                Upon the mulberry-tree.
     Dinah Maria Mulock (used pseudonym Mrs. Craik)

  • 11:06 pm
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