Dancing with Avocados

All my friends tell me I have a green thumb but I just like the work of making something grow. As long as I can remember I have always had plants around me. I’m one of those people who gets a cutting from something and then begins to grow them like mad. This is where the green thumb part comes in because plants seem to respond to my touch. All kinds of plants! In fact, the only plant that has refused to fall under my spell are African Violets. They are a rather high strung lot and despite lots of care have consistently resisted the pull of my caress so I stir clear of them. Everything else if fair game.

I like avocados but Alex loves them and probably if given a choice would eat nothing else. One day recently I decided to try my hand at growing them. Alex gave me a million reasons why they would not grow but I pressed ahead anyway.

As always click each photo for a better view.

First comes the rooting

The rooting process is pretty straightforward in that you should first eat an avocado and save the seed. No problem there... Let the seed dry out and next suspend it in a glass of water with toothpicks.

This little beauty is almost ready to go. I found out that in order to get fruit (an avocado) you have to have at least two trees so I have several in various stages of sprouting.

After about two to three weeks if lucky and patient you will begin to see signs of life sprout out through the top of the seed. You almost feel it is a chick trying to break free from an egg and you should provide encouragement.

Dirt and growth

Little by little the sprout works its way out of the seed. Once it does it is time to place it in dirt. I know this is going to sound strange but at this point you want to slow growth. The leaves at the top should be pinched back to allow the trunk to get strong and hardy, otherwise it will grow too fast and become stringy. The stringy part is important because they don't like wind.

While growing these I learned all Hass avocado trees are descended from a single "mother tree" that was raised by a mail carrier named Rudolph Hass, of La Habra Heights California. He patented the tree in 1935.





The makings of a tree
Following the pinching stage the plant begins to get stronger and stronger, and once the trunk is strong enough the plant will override the pinching process and sprout more leaves to get taller.

It is truly a sight to behold as the tree gets bigger and bigger. And, true to form Alex asked me to grow one for him. He is now the proud owner of the beginnings of an avocado tree. I will keep you updated as we grow our avocado farm. If we only get a few avocados it will be well worth it because I learned in some cultures they are considered aphrodisiacs and contain 60 percent more potassium per ounce than bananas. Is this a great fruit or what?

Next stop... Jackfruit!

The Age of Loneliness

Despite the fact that there are times when we are two armed camps on an issue, there is something to be said for having a partner in crime. And that is how I view Alex, part Father at times but generally the person I can go to who is willing to share my joy in doing dumb stuff.

And yet, looking back there was a time of searching and loneliness. The other day I was looking up something and ran into some music by Enigma that was the embodiment of that time. I found the video on Youtube and thought I would share it with you. There is something very haunting about the chant that runs through it...

But Is it paparazzi?

Last weekend was a walk on the wild side in that I had a chance to try out a new telephoto and a wide angle lens I recently bought. It was uncharted territory for me in that Alex is the one who normally takes people shots, I like close up's like this seaweed below (as always, click on each photo for a better view)...

or landscapes like this one that magically looks like a raised impression of a footprint on the beach.

But with the telephoto lens you somehow find yourself taking candid pictures of people from far away. I did not go crazy and catch people doing all kinds of odd things but simply ask that you bare with me while I give you my version of being a paparazzi.

Alex and I agreed to meet further down the beach as we went our separate ways to take pictures. I secretly followed him with the telephoto lens and liked this shot because everyone seems to be in motion except him.

Later, these two girls share a private moment of secrets that only girls know about.












And then the wide angle view of the St. Augustine inlet

Off in the distance, in another direction there was this classic 50's kitsch motel with cheesy flamingos. I zeroed in and the result is priceless

I was able to get up close and personal with a crane.

And remember the view from the lighthouse a couple of weekends ago? Well here is the opposite view from off in the distance on the ground with a sailing ship passing by.

Climbing the Stairway to Heaven...

Alex has talked to me for ages about going to the St Augustine Light House and I have avoided it as long as possible because as I have mentioned before... I am afraid of heights. I tried every trick possible to get out of going but nothing worked and it was off to a stairway to heaven adventure.

As always click each photo for a better view

We arrive at the site and the sign at the entrance gave an indication that the place is loaded with light house history, some of it dating back to 1586.

After paying for admission and a short walk down a path, we instantly arrive at the lighthouse in all it's glory. Looking at it, my eyes just kept traveling up, and up, and up.... If you look closely at the top there is a small ring that is the observation post which is where we are going to climb.

The tour guide told us the light house keepers were generally a strong lot because every two hours they had to climb 219 steps to the top of the tower carrying fuel in a 30 pound bucket to adjust the light. I thought about it and realized all I was carrying was a very light camera and the view would be more than worth it... So I took a deep breath and decided to give it a try...

I climbed a few steps and realized I didn't feel bad at all and decided to look up. There was this magnificent sight that reminded me of a sea shell or for the mathematically inclined a fractal. A beautiful sight indeed! I kept going.

Right about this level I could see the coast line and wondered despite the drudgery of the work, during the day the keepers must have enjoyed living in one of the most beautiful places on earth. The structure in view from the window is the keepers house which is large and roomy. It had to be because keeping the light house was a family affair. Everyone in the family was called into service to perform some function to keep the light house going.

Talk about a room with a view. You can barely see the top of the keeper's house now but there was the inlet, highlighting a crisp sunny day... also butterflies in the stomach, red alert!

And here is my reward. It is a wonderful sight with a clear view for miles of the entire inlet. I will admit that my heart was pounding and I stayed well back from the railing but it was more than worth it.

And to add to the excitement of the trip was a display of the various types of lens used at the light house. The Fresnel lens was the preferred model because it's separate section design made them lighter and also allowed the light to be seen for far greater distances.

You can see from the photos they were technological marvels for their time that are still used today in traffic lights and even the headlights of your car. And, they look like huge diamonds!

Going down was a lot easier than going up and as we did I congratulated myself on making it to the top.



And, as we drove away and could see the light house in the distance I realized how much I enjoyed taking the stair way to heaven.

Brian the Folk Singer...

We had a wonderful Easter weekend and spent much of it in St Augustine, Florida. One of the most exciting aspects of the trip was a chance encounter with a Dulcimer player. We happened to be sitting in a park having a late afternoon lunch and could hear music in the distance.

As always, click each photo for a better view

It was a strange yet wonderful sound and we wandered over to listen. It seems this musician (we found out later his name was Brian or "Brian the Folksinger") had just joined in with some street musicians and was playing this strange instrument called a Hammered Dulcimer. I have seen a dulcimer before but never one like this. According to Brian his is a 5 octave solid body electric Hammered Dulcimer. Take a look below to see what that looks like...

I was really captivated by both the sound of the instrument and the folk-reggae songs Brian sang while he played, his voice has a haunting quality to it. You could tell he was quite versed on this dulcimer by the way he was able to walk up to a group of guys he had never met and start playing music that made you want to tap your feet and just feel happy. And I will add I have never met anyone who was as friendly or as cordial as Brian before and after playing his music.

I later did a little research and discovered the Dulcimer is an instrument that is common to almost every culture, just under a different name; and Brian's was really unusual in that they normally only go as high as three octave. Second, it seems the hammered dulcimer is experiencing a revival by a number of performers including the Blue Man Group. If you get a chance by all means visit Brian's website to learn more about the man and his music.

Look over the instrument and let me know if you are aware of a similar instrument from your culture and it's name.

I have included a video clip of the music that got our attention and ask that you keep in mind it was recorded in an open park in addition to it being a windy day. Despite those disclaimers it is still beautiful music. Enjoy!