I was in Ashland, Oregon yesterday, and found myself visiting the Japanese
Garden section of Lithia Park. I originally intended to attempt to find
some mulberry berries there, but that was further up the park. I thought,
"well, as unlikely as it is, I will look for ginkgo fruit, as there are
several female trees here". After looking for a few minutes and seeing
none, I finally saw one (and as when hunting for morels), the eye and mind
suddenly knows what to look for. Someone had been raking up the leaves, and
I searched a little through the leaves and found a couple more. All in all
I found perhaps six, some already were just the nuts, the pulp having been
removed one way or another. Yes....a man can be told there are a billion
billion stars in the sky and believe it, but tell him "wet paint" he has to
put a finger on it to check it out. Sure enough, I decided I had to "take a
whiff", and sure enough, yes indeed, true to the reports, I found the fruit
pulp smelled....well, to me like very sour dog droppings. :-D I handled the
fruit gingerly, as I recalled reading that the pulp also contains skin
irritants. I am not sure if I am not very sensitive to them, or perhaps
cold or decay had already began to break these chemicals down, but I had no
noticeable reaction. Walking along I was actually glad to find an
improperly disposed of sandwich bag, which was just the right size. Now I
need to review notes about propagation, I don't know about elsewhere, but
the ginkgo I have grows imperceptibly slowly. Might never be bonsai, but I
am going to have some fun.

Sam Crowell
Klamath Falls, Oregon

__________________________________________________ _______________
Working moms: Find helpful tips here on managing kids, home, work — and
yourself. http://special.msn.com/msnbc/workingmom.armx

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Jarbas Godoy ++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++