Must I Share?

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I planted blackberries so that I could eat them.

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I also planted blackberries to bake blackberry pie and eat that too, or some of it.

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I planted blackberries because I like smoothies and they are delicious when made with  blackberries.IMGP8149.new

I didn’t plant blackberries so that the squirrels could eat them.

IMGP7659.new Little scamp!  That’s not actually what I said when I saw him nibbling at my berries.

I enjoyed watching this  Gray Catbird, Dumetella carolinensis, visit my garden,IMGP7954_cropped_3097x2751..new

…I didn’t enjoy watching him eat  my blackberries.IMGP7918.new

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Does he look smug to you?

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I guess he’s sitting in the catbird seat.

 

15 thoughts on “Must I Share?”

  1. I’m not sure what I would do if I was able to land in a spot that featured delicious ripening fruit I loved, especially if each piece of fruit was fully as large as my head. Maybe that bird is smug, but it might simply be full to the point of bursting. It looks to me a little like a bird in desperate need of a nap to sleep off the sugar rush.

    I usually don’t mind watching birds and squirrels enjoying fruit, it is when they (squirrels especially!) take a couple of bites and then spit the rest to the ground that heats me up. Sharing is fine, but wasting?! No no no!

    I want to march right over and say “Listen here, mister! You pick up that uneaten fruit right this minute! You don’t get one single other bite of a fresh berry until you finish eating the one you started! There are starving birds all over the world who would be happy to have what you are dropping to the ground! Exactly who do you think is going to clean up that mess? You? I doubt it!”…and so forth. Ahem!

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    • I’ve shaken my finger in admonition at squirrels/birds/bugs a time or two. They don’t listen though, do they? Darned varmints. I also had Blue Jays and Mockingbirds nipping at the blackberries as well, I just didn’t get photos of those thieving beasts.

      I don’t actually mind all that much, that business of having critters munch what I planted for ME, but I would agree that that taking just a tiny bit off of the berry and leaving the rest, well, that’s just rude.

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    • Could do, but didn’t. Truthfully, the birds and squirrel seem only interested in that one set of vines. My main blackberry producer hasn’t been bothered at all. Still, little varmints!

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    • Thanks! I’m with you–I may whine a bit, but truthfully, I’m glad to share with the birds. I’m ambivalent about sharing my bounty with the squirrel, though. 🙂

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    • Thanks, Julie! I have planted more. I now have three separate areas where blackberries grow. The main set of vines haven’t been bothered at all by birds–that’s where my main stash is.

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  5. Great photos! Your blackberries look yummy. And …. haha … I can’t help but notice that instead of chasing these guys away you took pictures instead. I do hate how birds only poke at fruit and leave big pieces to rot. It does seem wasteful but I suppose the leftovers go to insects and smaller things.

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    • They are yummy. I’m freezing them for future cobbler, smoothies and pies. It’s so wet out right now and most of the berries I need to pick are adjacent to gardens–I don’t want to compact the soil anymore than I already have. I guess it’s time to get out the boards and make a temporary walkway so I can pick the harvest for the day. Before the rains start again, that is.

      You’re very observant–I set up camp on the back patio and thoroughly enjoyed the catbird’s meal. Meals.

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  6. Mmm mmm. Looks delicious – in all forms! I guess the birds think so too. This is the first year that my blackberries (or at least one of my older plants) has a decent amount of berries, and I’m definitely not willing to share with the birds…or squirrels, so I’ve put some bird netting on the plant to try to make sure I’m the only one snacking on them. My berries aren’t quite ready yet, but one of my neighbors has an established blackberry patch and let me go pick as many as I could today. I came home with about 5 cups of blackberries as well as a few servings of delicious blackberry cobbler, which she had freshly baked (got to love gardening neighbors, especially ones that act like your long lost grandma – baking you treats and sending you home with goodies 😉

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    • I’ve never had “problems” with the birds until this year. Actually, what end up being an issue for me and MY berries are the variety of stinkbug, especially toward the end of the harvest–they really move in for the kill.

      What a nice neighbor you have!! That’s so wonderful!! Well, I know you well enough that I’m sure you did something nice for her, too!

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