My sink, brimful of mangos...again |
This morning, like most mornings here in St.
Croix , produced much for which I’m thankful. Regardless of my GPS locale, I’m still an
American & so I’ll make a short list (because that’s what we do). I am thankful for, & in no particular
order:
FAMILY, both by birth & by choice. For my Mom & Dennis in Florida, & my
other ‘chosen’ family here on the island (& in Texas for the moment—fill up
on turkey & tortillas & get your tuchas home!), I am grateful beyond
words…all evidence to the contrary! I
know how lucky I am to be surrounded (near & far) by people who ‘get it,’
& who make every day interesting & goofy & worthy of a little sappy
sentiment, so there! Living this far
from the mainland for two decades means I get to ‘choose’ my island family,
& I’m fortunate to surround myself with a fascinating group of kindred
souls with divergent interests. We get
called down in restaurants for having too much fun, & manage to make
mundane tasks like shopping into events simply by going together. We bob around in the surf & show each
other our finds like big kids on a treasure hunt. IMPORTANT
NOTE here: I’ve been verbally groveling
to my much loved real family, my Mom, trying to squeeze a visit out of
her. Maybe if I write it here, she’ll
consider it? (Shameless huckstering
acknowledged.)
If you’ve met me, you know I also count among my ‘family’ my
delightful Tasmanian devil of a dog, Mu.
And you know how grateful I am for how she improves every day of life,
as all our mutts do for all of us.
Mu, pondering her yard |
I am thankful for the ridiculous bounty of nature here on
the island & more particularly in my yard.
I was filling my watering cans from the overflowing cistern this morning
(rain barrel is already brimming) & tromped around the wet grass to check
produce progress. Both little Carambola
(starfruit) trees are chock full of waxy fruit in hues from chartreuse to
pumpkiny orange. The one that produces
larger fruit also supports a water lemon vine (passion fruit family, small
fuzzy fruit that look like lemons wearing scalloped green ‘hats’ (sepals or
calyx?). The pineapple plants are
growing by leaps & bounds & the ones in the ‘nursery’ (potted, but not
in the ground) are begging to be planted.
Four big bunches of various types of bananas & plantains are
hanging, fat & happy & growing by the day. And the Julie mango tree has a stray,
off-season mango hanging there ripening (& no doubt beaconing stray horses
that will hang over my fence & try to ‘prig’it, ie. grab & run).
But the surprise of the morning was cherries! I have been busy making jewelry &
ornaments & obviously wasn’t paying attention to the giant Surinam Cherry
bush below my porch. I vaguely remember
smelling some sweet something on the breeze one night when I was watering the
orchids, but the source didn’t register at the time. So there they were this morning, looking like
little squishy red pumpkins. One fell
off in my hand as I was inspecting it, which is the test for ripeness. If you have to tug to get the fruit free, it
isn’t ready & for the most part isn’t edible. Like a lot of tropical fruit, Surinam cherry
has an acrid taste that only dissipates when the sugars overwhelm it, ie. when
it is almost overripe. The cherry bush
is taller than I am & willowy, with an appearance a lot like what we called
Bridal Wreath bush back in Maryland & West Virginia. The white bloom isn’t as showy as Bridal
Wreath, but the cherries are stunners.
The first one lived up to its promise, too, dissolving on my tongue with
that unique flavor somewhere between that of a cherry & a cherry
tomato. Bliss!
After checking all the fruit, I looked at the
ornamentals. Three different white
orchids with magenta throats are blooming in the frangipani & sugar apple
trees. Each presents a long spray with
parallel rows of big blooms, like a white-gloved sommelier offering a great
vintage. It is even more wonderful when
you realize these plants were ‘goners,’ & would surely have croaked if my
friend hadn’t advised me to tie them in trees.
He says when an orchid is showing signs of stress it is time to give it
what it really wants, which is to live in a tree. (Wonder if that would work with people?)
And the last oomph from the yard as I got in my car &
headed for my other job was that in addition to their usual prolific periwinkle
trumpets of bloom, the other variety of Thunbergia against my kitchen door was
in full glory. Three enormous white
flowers against the steroid-looking (all natural though, as I don’t water or
fertilize those plants at all) giant dark green leaves on the vines. Obviously those plants are as happy &
well-suited to where they are planted as I am, & for that I remain, truly
thankful.
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