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Uses For Jujubes - Red Dates

Uses For Jujubes - Red Dates Last week, I talked about the hungry sparrows feasting among my jujube trees. Apparently many have not heard of a jujube or red date before and are curious what to do with them besides just eating them from the tree. Just to recap in case you have not read my previous post, when mostly yellowish in color they taste a little like a dry apple. They get sweeter as they turn a reddish color and as they turn completely red and start to wrinkle slightly, they are closer to a raisin or a date. No matter how you eat them, don't forget that there is a pit in the center. I find that cutting them close to the pit around each side is the easiest way to rid the fruit of the pit. The Varied Uses of Jujubes The light green to yellow jujubes are easily shredded and used any time apples are called for. I have used them in breads, muffins, and mixed with pear or apples for a fruit crisp when shredded right from the tree. ...

Cacti Flowers in Arizona

The rather spiky cactus is closely associated with Arizona and our desert landscape. Late April and early May are blessed with cacti flowers that dot the desert with color. From small landscaping cacti to the towering saguaro , blooms in many colors adorn the desert and residential landscapes around Phoenix. Many homeowners use slow-growing cacti as landscaping around the home. A single cactus plant needs very little water, can easily handle our 100 degree days, and in general, needs almost zero care. Each spring, they will burst into bloom and brighten a front or back yard. The size of the cactus plant doesn't determine whether or not they will bloom. Some cacti stay very tiny for their entire lives while others tower many feet tall. This tiny cactus easily grows in a pot and displays a ring of beautiful pink flowers each spring. This cactus is really only the size of a grapefruit yet blooms year after year never really getting not...

Grackles Command the Backyard

The grackle is one of the larger birds that I see frequenting my backyard. They do not tend to go to the feeder thankfully as I imagine that they would make quite a mess. They will, however, peck in the grass and on occasion eat the jujube fruit dropped by the sparrows. As I explained in an earlier post , the sparrows seem playful and happy in their fruit feast. The grackles however become very territorial and if they find a fruit that they claim as their own, they will continue picking it up and flying here and there until they feel they are safe from thieves and then very quickly eat. I will admit that the grackle was one of my most disliked birds in Arizona until my daughter began pointing out all the interesting things about this bird. My dislike stemmed from a large ficus tree that we had in the backyard of a former home. The grackles would nest in the tree in the evening and would make so much noise that I would need to close...

AZ Nature In Focus

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