Trees and Persimmons

Book review:   Frank and I just finished reading a most marvelous book called "The Tree" by Colin Tudge.   It is a natural history of what trees are, how they live, and why they matter.   Don't be intimidated by the size of the book or the scientific names used throughout, they actually become more familiar as you read this very well-written book.  The author is a very learned person; I don't say that frequently.   I also laughed out loud many times because of his brilliant and humorous thoughts.  He is very generous and shares his wealth of knowledge in this amazing book.   The last chapter is especially good.   But the whole book is a gem.   It is a must for serious gardeners and tree lovers.  You will know so much more about a lot of things, than you did before you read it.
 
I'm also still working through the book "Collapse" by Jared Diamond.  It is about how societies choose to fail or succeed.  It explains why some societies collapsed (Mayans, Anasazi, Greenland Norse, Easter Island) and how some lasted for many millenia.    I find the author not as good a writer, but the message is excellent and the material well worth reading.  And one cannot help but compare it today and ask how we are doing and if we might be making some of the same mistakes or addressing the possible problems wisely.
 
Also, we just picked many of our large orange oriental persimmons...they are finally ripe.  A number of people wanted to buy some, if we had extra.  There absolutely no sprays or chemicals used on our fruit; It is (uncertified) but totally organic.  Organic persimmons are selling for up to $4 apiece!   But we will be happy with $.50 each.  This is the only time of year they are available.   I peel and take out the few seeds and freeze the fruit for future use in muffins, breakfast cereal, persimmon pudding, and winter fruit salads.  If you give me a good recipe for using persimmons (one I don't already have) I'll give you two persimmons for free.