Caged and uncaged...

Or should that be "Protected and unprotected"?
The nearest bush (framed but so far not netted) is a chocolate cherry bush. This is the first year it has flowered, so maybe we'll find out what a chocolate cherry tastes like later in the summer. The nets will soon be added to the frame.
Next to it is a honeyberry (haskap) bush, in fact three honeyberry bushes in a row, all now protected by netting. These bushes produce a blue berry that looks like this and this. We like the berries, which taste delightful, but so do the birds. Last year we were away and the bushes were left uncovered. We got home just in time to grab the last berry or two but the birds got the rest.
The bush slightly in front of the others is a gooseberry that is about three years old and looks like it may give us a real harvest this year Last year the birds got the few berries that grew - this year we may get to taste them.
Beyond the described bushes are the uncaged fruit bushes, the black and red currant bushes. The birds have never eaten the blackcurrants at all, and have only taken some of the redcurrants. Why they mostly leave these berries alone is a mystery to me.
Finally there is our wild plum tree, producing small sour plums. I love the sour taste of the plums but no-one else appreciates it, apparently not even the birds, because they also leave the plums alone. However, most people do enjoy the sour-sweet jam made from these plums.
All these cages were built today using the bits and pieces we have lying around from previous years. It's all a bit makeshift but it does the job. The plan for today was to weed around the bushes, so we could build the cages another day, but the berries were already on the way on the honey berry plants and one thing led to another so now the berries are nearly protected and the planned walk never happened!
PS A backblip and a day late. Click forward for today's blip.