Palmetto Berries

   The palmettos that are scattered about the place are becoming scarce in most other places.  With new homes being built all around the Bayou, this place is the last holdout for native plants and critters.  It seems that no one wants what was here before them.  The palmettos are some of the first plants to go when the clearcutting begins.  It is saddening because they house so many animals.  I try to leave as much coverage as possible.

  This morning, I noticed that the palmettos were in full bloom.  These blooms will turn to a type of date by midsummer.  It resembles a blackish blue olive (at least, to me).  Once ripe, the fruit will become food for many critters.  It does not take long for the stalks to be stripped of the fruit by possums, coons, fox, birds, turtles, deer and wild hogs.  Any of these would love to be the first to find the berries!   It seems sad to me that the palmettos will soon be a thing of the past...along with a lot of the critters that depend on the fruit.  Times are changing and not for the better by my standards.