Blossom Bandit

The cherry trees are in full bloom and I'm so happy to see bees busily buzzing all around doing their jobs diligently. I hope this means we will get loads of fruit again this year.

Last year our two trees produced so many cherries I thought there would be no way we could keep up with all the picking and the eating. I figured we'd be making cherry pie, cherry cobbler, cherry jam, dried cherries, cherry bread, cherry jubilee, cherry compote, cherry clafoutis........ wait, I'm beginning to sound like Bubba from Forrest Gump, aren't I? Anyway, we had more cherries than I've ever seen. I boasted to my friends and assured them they'd be able to come over with buckets and go home with more, better, sweeter, juicier cherries than they could ever find in any ole grocery store.

Little.....did.....I.....know, the crows had a different agenda. They sat perched high in the Redwood across the way patiently waiting. They would come swooping in daily, for samples, testing, waiting until the cherries were just right. When I caught on to their plan, I thought I beat them to the punch, so I ran right out as fast as I could, to Orchard Supply, and bought some shiny, sparkly, "scary", streamers, and raced home, grabbed the ladder and up the tree I went. I spent a couple of hours tying those scary streamers to the branches and as soon as I stepped foot on the ground the crows came diving in and haughtily helped them selves to more samples and to laugh right in my face, taunting "yeah right lady"!

The very second the fruit was perfectly ripe those pesky thieves called their friends and they all flew in for a feast. Our trees were picked clean before the day was done. Well, I've got news for you BIRDS, this year I am determined not to share!

Yesterday J.T. and I were out back admiring our beautiful "popcorn" tree, as he calls it, and we discovered we were not the only admirers. There's a new bandit after our goods. As if the birds weren't enough. Tom doesn't know this yet, but, in addition to all of our other projects and items on the honey-do list, we will be netting the trees. :-)