The wild plums are ripe!
(but plum pickin’ ain’t what it used to be!)

I’ve had my eye on the scattered wild plums on our mile long driveway. The trail is so bumpy that you can’t (or wouldn’t want to) drive very fast, so I do a lot of “sightseeing” while I drive to and fro with the ATV, doing mailbox runs or with the truck, hauling supplies.

Our wild plums are smallish, bright red and pretty sweet for wild plums. I look forward to making a batch of plum jam out of them. IF I can beat the bears to them. They also really, really like the wild plums! But right now, the bears are busy with the grove of chokecherries I was going to get today. I went in there and saw evidence of fresh bear activity (broken branches, tracks and a WHOLE lot less cherries than there were yesterday), so decided not to go mano a mano with a bear over chokecherries when I knew where there were more, anyway.

So this morning, I decided that I’d better get with my harvesting or miss out. I grabbed my cell phone (so I could be in contact with Mom, who also has one at home, in case she needed me while I was outside), my picking bucket and jumped on my trusty ATV. The plums are about a half a mile down the drive and I don’t like to leave Mom long, even if Tom IS there working on the new porch’s roof.

I parked off the trail and started picking. Oh! They were so ripe they started falling off on the ground if I just moved a branch! Of course I had to pop one in my mouth to see if it was really ripe, you know.

Here I am, way out in the pristine woods, enjoying nature at its best when my %&*)$&)(*_#$(*# cell phone rings!!! And it’s not Mom! It was so unbelievable all I could do was laugh. It was just so strange! Ain’t technology great? Or is it an interruption on a peaceful life? I tend to think the latter.

I’ve posted readers questions with my answers below:

Salted onion tops

My grandmother used to make salted onion tops, we lovingly called the “Zeb” She was very french and I believe that may have been where this recipe originated. Anyway, she has since passed and I
did not get her secret for these lovely salted green onion tops that we put in soups. I have tried, but they came out a slimy mess. Can you help me out? I am sure it isn’t rocket science, but…I seem to
miss something. Love your articles and have learned so much from your positive spirit. Keep up the GREAT work.

Christine Robinson
Presque Isle, Maine

Boy Christine, you’ve got me here. I’ve never even heard of salted onion greens. Does anyone else in our BHM family know about them? We’d sure like to hear from you if you do! — Jackie

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