A Couple of Tropical Notes

September 2nd Rose

The month of September is winding down fast. Before it gets entirely by me, here are a couple of thoughts and pictures. 

trimmed and put into a vase on the breakfast table

Beloved and I always celebrate the anniversary of our first date on September 2. This year it was 49 years! (you can do that math as to what year that was, but understand, we were just teens at the time) I was in the kitchen preparing dinner when he walked in from an errand with an armful of gorgeous yellow roses. Always and still, he's a man after my heart! 

Dragon Fruit

It was very late August or early September when I was shopping the fresh produce section of Whole Foods Market, which is where I found this odd-looking item. Dragon Fruit, or Pitaya is a rich deep rosy pink color with a tough-looking outer skin. I had no idea what to do with it, so I asked the clerk who was stocking in the area. She said it has many tiny seeds, much like kiwi and that she had never tried it because she was afraid she would not like the texture.

Just one of these beauties was something like $4 but my grocery budget could handle the expense that day, and I was up for a small adventure, so I bought one. After getting it home I Googled "Dragon Fruit." (I love the Internet!) According to Wikipedia, Dragon Fruit is from several cactus species indigenous to the Americas. 

A sharp knife cuts through that tough outer skin to reveal  a milky-white texture inside heavily dotted with teeny tiny black seeds. I used a cereal spoon to scoop out some of the flesh in one half to taste. It was mildly sweet and the seeds were so tiny that they slid right down without a problem.

With my Internet research, I saw this clever serving idea, so I cubed up what remained of the white flesh in both halves and then served it to Beloved and myself in a 'bowl' of the pink skin. 

More research told me that Dragon Fruit is very nutritious, which is fine, but I decided at that price, we'll get our nutrition in less costly foods and not make a habit of buying this often. 

Hurricane Irma in my neighborhood

Of course the biggest story of the month has been the hurricanes -- THREE of them hitting American soil in less than four weeks' time.  I tried to get a picture of all of the branches of our front yard palm tree blowing in one direction at the same (ala Weather Channel), but alas, this was the most dramatic shot I could capture.

My daughter-in-law has told me hurricane season doesn't end until November 30th.  Even though we were blessedly spared serious consequences for the most part, we can hardly wait for the season to end.

Denise in the Rockies

One of the most odd, and yes, nostalgic, aspects of September for us this year has been the continuing of summer for us while so many of our friends in Colorado are reporting the changing of the Aspen trees from green to gold and the dropping nighttime temperatures. 

If we had not already felt a parting of the ways when our moving truck rolled away from The Brown Bungalow last June, then this realization that we will not experience autumn in the Rockies pretty much settles it. 

Jacksonville Beach

We hold those mountain-high experiences dear and take pleasure inhaling ocean air as often as is practical. 

positioned prominently in my closet so I see it every single day

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