Our Little Acre's First Cherry

Several years ago, I acquired two small cherry tree seedlings at a garden writers event, which I planted in the northeast corner of our property, where most of the other fruits are. (Apples, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries...)

The first couple of years, they grew as they were supposed to and we caged them over winter to protect them from Thumper's destructive behavior. Two winters ago, we forgot to do that and we paid the price. The cherry trees were gnawed off all the way to the ground.

I thought they were goners, as the trees weren't all that large to begin with, but as the weather warmed, we began to see little shoots of green coming from the roots. The trees both survived, but it was clear that they were going to be more of shrub now than a tree. No matter.

This spring, one of the trees bloomed.

Three glorious blossoms meant that for the first time, there would be cherries at Our Little Acre. Only three, but three is better than none.

And then something happened to two of them. They simply disappeared. It was early in the game, so who knows, but now we were down to one. I didn't want to lose it so that meant I would have to protect it from the birds and whatever else might enjoy a ripe, red cherry.

Today, I noticed it had turned red. 

Since I don't know what variety the cherry trees are (I forgot to tag them), I don't know if they're a true red when they're ripe or if they're a little darker than that. I'm going to keep a close watch on it to see if I can determine when it's perfectly ripe.

In the meantime, that precious lone cherry is wrapped up in netting because I'll be darned if our very first cherry is going to the birds. Now, just what to do with it when it's finally ready to be picked?

Suggestions?