Last week’s weather caused a windfall of strawberry tree fruit (Arbutus unedo) on the ground. Much of it was in great shape, and there was more than I could eat fresh, so I tried dehydrating some. I’ve been getting figs, and I bought a box full of Jonathan and Golden Delicious apples, so I put a load of the three fruits into the box for about 16 hours.
I expected that as they dried, the tiny half-spheres would likely fall through the rack, so I put that rack on top, hoping they might get caught by larger pieces of fruit underneath.
The little buttons did fall through, but I caught them all sooner or later. They are chewy and crunchy and I hope I can preserve a few more of them this way before the harvest ends. The wind knocked down four lemons, too, which got into this picture.
The same day that I officially became a vermiculturist, an opossum wandered through my garden midmorning. I cornered him behind the snowball bush just to get his picture — not that I consider him particularly handsome… especially if I look at his mouth.
This weekend I’m headed up to Pippin’s to be present for Ivy’s tenth birthday celebration. Many of you commented on my announcement of her birth way back then! Here are pictures from previous years, including the Baggy Doll I made her for her first birthday.
I guess I’ve sewn more for Ivy than for any other grandchild. Two items — haha!
I haven’t made it up every year for her birthday, but often enough that I know it’s the right season for drinking in the beauty of my daughter’s extravagant dahlias, and for encountering deer on the property. I’ll leave you with this picture that Pippin sent me recently, of those neighbors looking for a handout. They might be wondering where the crabapples are; late frosts damaged their blossoms as well as destroying much of the apple crop in northern California this year. Maybe I should take them some figs!
Gladsome Lights 
Happy tenth birthday celebrations ahead!
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I’ve never heard of a strawberry fruit tree, what will you do with the dehydrated fruit? I read that it’s bland in flavor, but i imagine there’s good fiber. I have a lot of pears right now from a nearby orchard and am wondering what is the easiest + best way to preserve them. Enjoy the 10th birthday with your granddaughter.
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So far I’ve been eating it! It’s sweet and tasty. If you pick them before they are dead ripe and red, when they are dark orange and have a little firmness, they are the best. The flavor is better and they aren’t mushy.
I know, I read that, too, about the flavor being “insipid” or something, but maybe that was if you only eat the red ones! After years of ignoring the fruit I read somewhere else that they tasted like figs! I don’t think they do, but my family finds them very tasty. The ones that I dehydrated, I was thinking of mailing to the grandchildren who were hard at work last month trying to reach all the first fruits they could. But it was a little early then…
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When I saw your fruit, I remembered a mysterious photo I have in my files. The plant was identified as ‘strawberry tree,’ and I assumed that was wrong: that such a thing didn’t exist. Silly me! I need to find that photo, and double check it. It shows a green fruit that’s quite attractive.
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When my family was here last month I posted a picture on my blog of the children on a ladder picking the fruit. A nearby park has very tall and large specimens of this tree, but I have to keep mine smaller.
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The fruit is attractive at all stages, but it’s best for eating when dark orange. By the time it’s red it’s become mushy and has lost flavor.
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Oh Gretchen, how wonderful. I had my first fig the other day. So good! I love what you are doing with them. Have a fabulous time at Pippin’s 10th celebration — it sounds delightful. (And so are her neighbors!)
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A hostess gift for the deer – ha! Have a wonderful time – these grandchildren grow up so, so quickly.
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I love opossums! They eat the ticks!
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Well, that does give me a greater appreciation for them!!
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Opossums will never win a beauty contest. We’ve had them in our back yard looking for food no doubt. They look vicious. When we still had a dog I worried that the dog would get bitten.
Have a safe and enjoyable trip to celebrate Ivy’s birthday. ( Those Dahlias are wonderful!).
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I have a strawberry tree as well, but so far I haven’t even tried the fruit. Usually I just leave it for wildlife. It’s such a handsome tree, isn’t it? The baggy doll you made for Ivy is super cute.
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I somehow missed this post…being I am sitting at my computer and not on the tiny phone, I can pop in and say hello and what a fun post…is she really ten?
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