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Post by rockpickerforever on Aug 6, 2012 16:28:30 GMT -5
This is not a joke, it's a serious question...
I have a fig tree that is just producing like gangbusters about now. If I don't get them picked (or if the birds don't get them all), they start to ferment while still on the tree. This attracts bees and also the big green fig beetles.
When I'm picking them, the bees will be walking about on these fermented figs, lapping up the juices (alcohol) and I shoo them off so I can just pull the fig loose, and toss it into the mulch pile. Now, when I shoo the bees away (I haven't got stung by one yet, and I don't intend to), they really act as if they are impaired. Ditto the fig beetles, which will leave the fermented fruit, fly off and run into things. FUI!!!! The birds seem to be affected, too. They'll be up in the tree, just carrying on like a women's garden party, chatting away. Their noise seems to draw even more birds in.
So my question is, can things other than mammals get drunk? Thanks for your time. Jean
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Post by helens on Aug 6, 2012 16:43:33 GMT -5
Yes bees can get drunk, and dazed too, that's why bee keepers smoke them to make them dull and not attack so they can get the honey. If you spray insect killer, it does the same thing before it affects their nervous systems.
That said, figs aren't fruit you know they are flowers... I have a fig tree too, but a small one, and I had no idea they fermented if you didn't pick them!
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Post by Pat on Aug 6, 2012 17:38:50 GMT -5
I suspect all fruit ferments if left on the tree/ground long enough. I've seen drunk birds, too. Interesting situations!
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shermlock
has rocks in the head
Member since August 2011
Posts: 612
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Post by shermlock on Aug 6, 2012 20:40:16 GMT -5
Once the area Russian Olive berries start to ferment, our Cedar Waxwings start to have difficulty staying in trees and flying. Pretty funny for the few days that they are "liquored up." Scott
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Post by Pat on Aug 6, 2012 20:42:48 GMT -5
Personally, I prefer peach brandy ;D ;D ;D
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Post by 3rdrockfromthefun on Aug 6, 2012 21:00:33 GMT -5
Figs are an Accessory Fruit - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_fruitI've heard that birds can get drunk even on fermenting rice left in the rain after weddings. I've heard it's not a good idea to toss rice at weddings because drunk birds tend to have bad accidents (intoxicated flying - so wrong). Or maybe it because it constipates squirrels, lol... so much to remember and so little brain to remember it with... :cheesy:
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Post by helens on Aug 6, 2012 21:11:56 GMT -5
My mom used to make black cherry brandy... she just washed cherries, put them in a jar with a cup of sugar, and a tablespoon of brandy (as 'starter'), shaking it well so it's all coated. And just put it up for a few months in a dark place. You end up with a cherry cordial that's amazing. All the cherries stay plump and dark, but fills up with the liquor. I think it would work with peaches too but never tried that.
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adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,777
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Post by adrian65 on Aug 6, 2012 21:50:39 GMT -5
Not only bees: Why do you let figs get fermented? They're good to eat and can be kept either dehydrated, or you can make jam out of them.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Aug 6, 2012 22:31:45 GMT -5
Adrian, I LOVE to eat the figs. Unfortunately, I don't always get out there as often as I should to pick them, and then there's the ones that get missed as well. The leaves of the fig tree have a fine fuzz on them that irritates the heck out of my skin. The undersides of my forearms get all red and itchy. And when I picked yesterday, it was almost 90 degrees and very humid out, making me sweat, which made it itche even more! I brought in two plastic shopping bags full of them. It took me 2 hours to get them all picked, then another hour to clean them, getting 2 one-gallon bags into the freezer.
I now have about 8 one-gallon ziplock bags of figs that have been peeled, then cut in half, in the freezer now. Maybe I'll make some wine? My husband wants me to make some fig cookies... Jean
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Post by Rockoonz on Aug 6, 2012 22:41:56 GMT -5
Figs are an Accessory Fruit - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_fruitI've heard that birds can get drunk even on fermenting rice left in the rain after weddings. I've heard it's not a good idea to toss rice at weddings because drunk birds tend to have bad accidents (intoxicated flying - so wrong). Or maybe it because it constipates squirrels, lol... so much to remember and so little brain to remember it with... The problem with feeding dry rice to birds is the birds digestive juices cause the rice to swell up and block their digestive system, often killing them. Lee
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Post by mohs on Aug 7, 2012 0:22:46 GMT -5
I would say primitive man (is there any other Kind)? watched birds eat grapes and fly funny so they had to try it
and soon there was vino bottled, corked and for a few bucks
the effects of coffee bean on birds clued mankind to this wonderful discovery especially necessary in the morning after a night of vino mostly
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Post by 3rdrockfromthefun on Aug 7, 2012 3:41:04 GMT -5
Figs are an Accessory Fruit - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_fruitI've heard that birds can get drunk even on fermenting rice left in the rain after weddings. I've heard it's not a good idea to toss rice at weddings because drunk birds tend to have bad accidents (intoxicated flying - so wrong). Or maybe it because it constipates squirrels, lol... so much to remember and so little brain to remember it with... The problem with feeding dry rice to birds is the birds digestive juices cause the rice to swell up and block their digestive system, often killing them. Lee Oh man... that's way worse than a flying accident (slow death) -- geeeez! Thanks for the info - I'll be de-arming anyone I catch throwing rice from now on.
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chassroc
Cave Dweller
Rocks are abundant when you have rocktumblinghobby pals
Member since January 2005
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Post by chassroc on Aug 7, 2012 7:17:49 GMT -5
My mom used to make black cherry brandy... she just washed cherries, put them in a jar with a cup of sugar, and a tablespoon of brandy (as 'starter'), shaking it well so it's all coated. And just put it up for a few months in a dark place. You end up with a cherry cordial that's amazing. All the cherries stay plump and dark, but fills up with the liquor. I think it would work with peaches too but never tried that
Helen ...for sure...my Dad made Cherry "cough syrup" aand Peach Brandy. When we were in our late teens , early twenties we had lots of Peach parties...what a blast.
We had a peach tree on our city lot and they all ripen together. We didn't have a cherry tree but my Dad worked on the docks and every year it seemed like a shipment of cherries bound for Europe would burst open at the right time
Charlie
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Post by rockpickerforever on Aug 7, 2012 10:19:15 GMT -5
Ed - That totally makes sense about early man. Monkey see, monkey do, right! lol! I guess I had heard about birds flying under the influence (FUI) before, but forgot about it. And the fig beetles - those big irridescent green ones - they HAVE to be drunk, the way they go flying off, crashing into things! They are so big, they hurt when they hit you. But mainly it's the bees I worry about, as I do not want to get my fingers stung when grabbing the fruit. The figs I have are Calimyrna. The fruit is green, and starts to turn light green to yellow when it is ripe, and it also yields to the touch. I've often wondered how man came to use fig leaves for covering private parts - maybe by association, because the figs are shaped like this? These figs are actually dried, not fermented, or rotting. But picture them slightly softer, and a darker brown, not yellow... Frank - I've heard that the "green" thing to throw at weddings now is bird seed!! No harm to our feathered friends. (And the rats and mice and other vermin can come out after dark and pick up any they left behind!) Charlie - I've made peach brandy before, too. It was pretty smooth, but it certainly had a lot of sugar added to it! And the recipe I used had cornmeal in it, too. When it was done, I fortified it with some Puro - 96% (192 proof). WOW! Anybody have a simple recipe for fig wine? My sister made some wine with concord grapes last year but she went to a wine-making store, and spent maybe $100 to buy extra flavorings and additives, just to make a few gallons of wine. Ridiculous! I told her, if convicts could make pruno in jail, without benefit of a wine-art store, then there has to be simple way. Jean
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Post by mohs on Aug 7, 2012 11:43:55 GMT -5
funny!! I saw some figs hanging from the back of a pick up truck...
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