Lemon Trees and Elderberries

Today was very enjoyable. I pruned my lemon tree that I grew from seed two Januaries ago this morning, cut back some roses that have been blooming all summer, and picked a whole lot of elderberries off the bush that is in front of our home. I also enjoyed watering my other lemon tree that I rescued last fall. It currently has five rather large lemons on it and I'm excited!

I separated out the berries from the stems of the elderberries and they reminded me of the alveoli (branches of the lungs inside our human bodies) depictions in my textbooks from middle school when I was done. I took a few pictures but it really didn’t do the similarity justice.

I also listened to a little bird up in the trees chittering and chattering at me for stealing its elderberries and being in its territory.  I spoke back to it, but it really didn't understand or care that I was not taking all of the berries, just some. It was more just having a good time telling me off. 

I do have something to say about it:

Oftentimes in life, people talk just to hear themselves talk. They don't talk to tell you anything you don't already know unless you are in school. But in school, it is at the whim of the teacher and the curriculum. No criticism there, that is just how it is.

But people like that little bird don't really have anything to say and don't understand what you are doing. They hear you made a mistake, so they want to tell you how to do it right. But they aren't listening to the part where you learned from it and already fixed it. (Can you see the bird? Its in the top right hand corner.)

This picture is the perfect example. I don't draw well. The person who drew it, well, did much better than anything I could. He thought it wasn't the greatest. I thought he had a real talent. 

Most people would just notice he drew it on the table. That is all that matters, right or wrong. Forget this person had a bad day, forget what just happened in his life, forget what happened in the past: he was a terrible person and wrote on the table. FYI: He erased it for me after I took the picture and yes, he was having a terrible day.

That is how people see it. Then they talk about you, talking just to talk. Or, maybe you were such a bad person, so they would talk about you and your problems mercilessly behind your back but not lift a finger to help you. Let's face it, everyone does that at some point in their lives to someone else, but it is a rare person who never has that happen to them. We are all guilty, not just the people we are not fond of.

Second thing: people like to say you need to give respect to get respect. 

I also like to say: respect is demanded. You demand it of others and they demand it of you. A lack of respect results in a lack of respect, no matter who is doing it. 

So next time you open your mouth, remember that little bird in the tree. Respect his berries and his tree, but you don't have to stop picking berries just because he doesn't like it.

Just leave the best ones at the top for him, because you cannot reach them without a ladder anyways.

Update: I made Elderberry, Honey and Cloves juice for myself out of the Elderberries about a month ago. I used it and some special tea with Lemon Balm, Ginger, Ginseng and Green Tea when I was sick with Bronchitis last week. And, it really, really helped. Like, aside from bouillon broth, I used them instead of medicine until I was given an inhaler to go with it. I only needed Tylenol once and didn't even use a cold medicine. 

Wow! Those herbs worked really well! I think the Elderberry juice was more potent than Zarbees' Cough Syrup with Elderberry and it worked wonders. I read somewhere that Lemon balm has antiviral properties. Well, whatever it was...those properties were awesome and aside from mostly losing my voice due to the virus I had, I didn't feel all that sick or in pain. I couldn't talk or teach, but still, it helped!

I'm a plant person, so...honestly, I just harvested four of my five lemons and I am still looking for the fifth because it fell off before I had the chance to harvest it. I also have other things like a ginger root I am growing. It is interesting how well these things that you don't even need to buy work compared to modern medicines. Sadly, it takes a bunch of Elderberries to make just a little juice. So I am using it as a medicine instead of a drink or jelly at this point. My four lemons are starting to turn yellow, I plan on ripening them in a paper bag soon. For me, this is an awesome journey and lots of fun!

Update 2: I am not the only person who likes my Elderberry juice as a cough syrup! It works quite well! Actually, I'm almost out of it! Will have to buy more if I run out this winter!