the mulberry tree
A couple of days ago, Sarah , over at Sassying It Up mentioned that she'd bought a punnet of mulberries for the very first time. My thoughts went back about 37 years to when we were living at Enoggera, in Brisbane. Our back yard fence separated the yard from the long, long driveway and carparking area of the Army Base where my husband was stationed. In a corner of the yard was a huge old mulberry tree. Primary school aged kids would sometimes knock on our door and ask if they could have leaves for their silkworms. Of course I always said yes. Many times they didn't bother knocking and just cut through the carpark and took whatever leaves they could reach. I didn't mind, the tree was huge, plenty of leaves for everyone's silkworms. Is that a primary school rite of passage? Silkworms in shoeboxes? The mulberries grew by the thousands, beginning as small green buds, gradually becoming larger and pinker, then darkening as they ripened fully. I'd sit the ...