Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii) berries always take me by surprise when I spot their appearance in my otherwise barren winter garden. At times like our recent 19 inches of fresh snow, I expect our wintering, non-hibernating wildlife to be eating remaining food sources. The deer are frequent visitors to our yew shrub; no need for spring trimming by our hands. Yet, the bright red, attention grabbing berries of the Barberry bush remain abundantly intact on the branches. It turns out that their bitter taste; along with the thorny branches repel even the hungriest wild appetites. Us, humans, however have been known to eat them and use them medicinally.