I stood under my mulberry tree last July, hands on my hips, staring at the ground like a detective who had completely lost the plot. Every single morning for two weeks, I’d come outside to find the low-hanging branches stripped clean — berries gone, no trace, no explanation. I was convinced I had the sneakiest, … Read more
I once stood in my backyard for a full twenty minutes convinced my mulberry tree was haunted. Dozens of butterflies were swirling around it in what I can only describe as a coordinated frenzy, and I — a grown adult who owns gardening gloves and everything — genuinely thought something was wrong. I called my … Read more
I once spent an entire Saturday afternoon absolutely convinced I had accidentally poisoned my neighbor’s cat. I hadn’t. But the story of how I came to that conclusion — involving a half-eaten mulberry, a very dramatic tabby, and my complete ignorance of what a wildlife corridor mulberry trees can actually attract — is exactly why … Read more
I want to tell you about the morning I crouched behind my own garden shed, wrapped in a bathrobe, holding a Super Soaker, waiting to ambush a squirrel. It was 6:47 a.m. My neighbors were leaving for work. We made eye contact. I waved. The squirrel, meanwhile, sat in my mulberry tree eating berries with … Read more
Last summer, I draped bird netting over my mulberry tree, stepped back to admire my handiwork, and promptly watched my neighbor’s cat get completely tangled in it within four minutes. The cat was fine — dramatic, but fine — and I stood there holding a cup of coffee, wondering how I’d managed to build a … Read more
I walked out to my backyard on a bright June morning, coffee in hand, ready to check on my two-year-old Illinois Everbearing mulberry tree — and my stomach dropped. The lower branches were stripped bare. Fresh hoof prints circled the base. A deer had been there overnight, and it had done a number on my … Read more
I want to tell you about the morning I stood in my backyard in pajamas, holding a mug of coffee, staring up at my mulberry tree — and realized a raccoon was staring back at me. Not from the ground. From inside the tree. Lodged in the fork of two main branches like he owned … Read more
I once stood in my backyard at 6 a.m. in my pajamas, armed with a broom, convinced I was being invaded. There were dozens of birds — robins, orioles, catbirds, you name it — absolutely losing their minds in my mulberry tree. I genuinely thought something was wrong. Were they sick? Was this a scene … Read more
I stood under my mulberry tree last June, staring up at dozens of half-eaten berries dangling from the branches — and I actually teared up a little. I had waited three years for a truly abundant harvest. Three years of pruning, watering, mulching, and dreaming about mulberry jam, mulberry crumbles, and big bowls of fresh … Read more
I once stood in my backyard in my pajamas at 7 a.m., holding a garden hose like a weapon, completely surrounded by what I can only describe as a feathered mob. Robins. Cedar waxwings. A mockingbird with the attitude of a bouncer. They had descended on my young mulberry tree like it was an all-you-can-eat … Read more
