Fruiting Life

- I planted two black current stumps of un-remarkable descript on the packet. An all wirery and stringy affair well dug in and enriched I expected juicy black currents ! Vitamin packed. I could not imagine my benefit in my second summer. A grafted root of rasberries grew out of my blackcurrent stump A double bonus. The other stump a full black current plant. I had two neat bushes perfectly swaying and set on their grassy knoll Little fruit appeared that second summer. The third summer was different, very different. My four square feet had turned into twenty four square feet. My shock at the spread of these rasberries. They abound. They spring to their perfect leaves from everywhere. So prolific. Vast amounts of rasberies and some blackcurrents. Red berries like beautiful rubies on view from the kitchen window. A new living area. New life in the garden takes hold. Thrushes of burnt brown feathers compete with me for berries. The great tit lands but is not interested. The bull finch too. A stray orange tabby walks the amazonian tree like bushes of my fruit bearers. There is a draping of bird mess on the leaves now and again but never on the friut. I carefully wash those fruits. My uncle is old. He smokes. He heard a tale that someone said and asked : Is it true that rasberies help prevent cancer and I say for care , Yes. Yes, and I pick and wash them carefully. Wrap them carefully in new tin foil. And I know I am contented at that moment that I had begun new life. That I was helping to preserve old life. Or so I thought !