The Baltimore Orioles showed me that some mulberries were ripe on May 11. I’m enjoying spring in Virginia!

I was annoyed that the birds were knocking so many on the ground until I found TWO box turtles under the tree. 

The wildlife didn’t leave me many ripe berries for the first week, but once it got hot out there have been plenty for all of us.  A few days ago a catbird tried to scare me off while I was picking.  It probably has a nest I haven’t seen, or maybe it wants all the berries to itself.

The same morning that the Orioles were starting on the mulberries,  several Cedar Waxwings were chowing down on barely ripe Serviceberries (also called Juneberries, though they currently ripen in Virginia well before June).

Looking at my photos from Denali in May, it was different birds and a different climate!