The sidewalks are staining again. Mulberries — the forage that made half of you reply last summer to say "wait, I have one of those trees in my alley." You do. Go check.

What I'm reading

• Mulberries, the easiest fruit in the city — sheet under the branch, shake, collect. No tree is too tall if you let gravity do it.
• What to actually make with two quarts of mulberries — they freeze beautifully, bake into anything, and make a syrup that turns lemonade purple. They're soft and bland-sweet raw; cooking concentrates them.
• Map your neighborhood's fruit trees — Falling Fruit crowdsources public fruit-tree locations. The Chicago coverage is patchy, which is an invitation to add yours.

Field note

Back at the Kedzie alley from Issue #6, same three trees, same purple hands, a year of seasons in between. That's the whole pitch of this newsletter: the city is quietly, relentlessly feeding anyone willing to look down. Thanks for looking with me.

More soon. The chanterelles are next.

— Jenna