Bountiful Harvest... or Not

This is what I see looking out my kitchen window... an ornamental plum tree.    When my mom died 14 years ago, my sister-in-law sent me a gift to buy a tree to plant in memory of my mom.  I planted it where I could look out over my kitchen sink to see it, thinking we would be in that house for the rest of our lives.  Then 8 years ago we built another house so I bought another tree just like the first one.

                                           

Last year for the first time, it produced real plums!  Not knowing if they were edible, I researched it on the internet & found that they were.  One night I told Mr. M that I was going to pick the plums the next day...

But that night the deer ate every single one of them!!!

(The bent limb on the bottom of the tree is from the deer...)

SUBTITLE OF THIS POST: I BEAT THE DEER!

So this year when they appeared, I sprayed "Deer Off" (which has an obnoxious odor...!)

And then I picked them before the deer got to them!

These are not grapes... they are plums, about half the size of the ones you buy in the grocery, but just as luscious & delicious.

(Next to a peach...)

I usually have a great little blueberry crop, enough to have fresh ones on my cereal every day for about 2 weeks.

But this year my little bushes don't look so healthy...

The netting over it is to keep the birds from taking all the blueberries...

(The squirrels steal the tomatoes... gotta love the wild life!)

So here's about 1/3 of this years crop... & it's not a serving bowl or even a cereal bowl these are in... it's a tiny little bowl for dipping sauce.  There are 27 berries & they are about half the size of blueberries in the store.  Mine usually are at least as big as the store berries... I think the harsh winter affected them this year.
And that's my bountiful crop from this year....  I'll be heading to the grocery/fruit stand/farmer's market.