LOOK!!!  The persimmons are getting bigger.  Right now, they are about the size of cherries and green.  By October or November, they will be about the size of ping pong balls and bright orange.  You'll be able to see them from the road at 25 miles an hour, maybe 45, if you know what you're looking for.  
 

There are several other species of Persimmons, but Diospyros virginiana, the American Persimmon, is native to the eastern United States.  The trees are usually tall: 30-50 feet, but this one is only about 15 feet tall, making the persimmons a good height off the ground, so the deer can't get them ALL.  There are several trees down by the creek, near the Chestnut trees.  Be careful, though, there's lots of poison ivy down there.  
 

The fruits are edible, and delicious. They remind me of apricot jam.  They are ripe in the fall, but they're sweeter after a frost.  We look for ripe ones on the ground, and try them.  If you've never tasted a persimmon, you should give it a try.  If you have tasted an unripe one, I'm sure you remember it.  Momma's description was that it "turns your mouth wrong side out."  Excellent.  And SO true.

 

Next time you walk the loop, look for the persimmon tree.  You'll be glad you found it when the persimmons are ripe.  Be sure to leave me a couple.  
 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!