Thanks to the deep snows of last winter, the heavy rains of spring and the lack of a late spring freeze, we have an abundance of fruit on our Colorado farm this summer. Other than the peach and apricot trees, which bloom in March (too early for this climate zone), our fruit trees are laden with their sweet bounty, a treat for us and the wildlife. Chokecherries, perhaps our most reliable fruit shrub, are drooping with their dark clusters; the crabapples, mulberries and pear trees are also very productive this year. Even the wild plums and apple trees, fickle providers, are loaded with fruit.
What we don't get to first (the great majority) will go to the wildlife. Raccoons, fox squirrels, skunks and field mice consume much of the bounty though birds get most of the chokecherries, mulberries and juniper berries. Robins, starlings, northern orioles, cedar waxings, blue jays, gray catbirds and northern mockingbirds are the common fruit-eating birds; western tanagers visit the farm during migrations and Townsend's solitaires feast on the juniper berries throughout the winter. Though some homeowners deplore the "messy" nature of fruit trees, those of us who enjoy wildlife don't mind the fallen fruit and gastronomic consequences. Besides, nature resists a manicured environment.
