At 11:24 AM 6/1/99 -0700, Mary & Jean Claude wrote:
>>There are literally tons of unprocessed olives around where I live.

><Around here they are viewed as a nuisance
>
>This is not surprising to me that the most healthfull  foods are left to rot
>on the ground while people spends a lot of time and effort at growing
>unhealthy foods.

This reminds me of Stockton, California. I used to gather small pecans from
the grounds of a community college. They were so fresh and good! But the
cars just ran over them in the parking lot, and everyone looked at me as
if I were crazy. Yet Stockton had some very poor people in it, who I'm sure
could have used better food. There were a lot of trees just dropping
fruit on the ground, too, in private yards.

I continue to plant perennials that produce good food, like berry bushes
and nut trees, as I am glad that whoever landscaped the college put in
pecan trees. You never know when someone will have the sense to take
advantage of them. The whole Northwest has clumps of the "exotic" weed,
the evergreen Himalayan blackberry, and they make good gathering, as
well as providing cover and food for birds.

Bramble crops like raspberries or blackberries have a nice habit: they
continually spread and put up new shoots. Also, some of the best varieties
are nearly thornless. The offshoots are so abundant that they can be given
to friends; if the friends have been invited to "graze" on a clump of
prolific, delicious everbearing Amity raspberries, they can understand
why this is a nice way to use 10 square feet of a backyard. I can hardly
wait for the new ones to ripen. They are light green now, and the patch
is full of bees.

I've enjoyed your posts about connecting with the sources of our food,
Jean Claude.

Susan