A Winter Fruit Frenzy and Anticipating 'The Significant Other Blogfest'



Rubus spp. (thornless blackberry), maybe Arapaho, Apache, or Navaho

 According to Henry David Thoreau (Walden, Chapter 1, Economy), "the finest qualities of our nature, like the bloom on fruits, can be preserved only by the most delicate handling. Yet we do not treat ourselves nor one another thus tenderly."

What are those fine qualities of our nature that squish like ripe blackberries between clumsy fingers? And why don't we protect them from harm? Maybe we do if we are "tenders" in various applications of the word.


We can be tender in our conscience, in our words and actions, and we can be tenders of things like gardens...or stories.

 I've been putting off writing anything but these posts you read here and the comments I leave scattered around Blogland. Lots of things have been occupying my thoughts and time lately. The blueberry planting in our yard at home has been doubled, though we probably won't see much fruit from it for a few years. I had to "conquer and divide" the original plants, robbing from their roots to propagate new ones.

SAM and I added a few more fruit trees to the yard this past weekend. In addition to the plum trees in the foreground, beyond the palm tree/flower bed, we now have a couple of pear trees--"Flordahome" (not misspelled, by the way,) and "Hood." As I understand, they were both developed by the University of Florida and should do well in Santa Rosa County.

We also found a self-pollinating, Oriental persimmon, "Fuyu," for a good price at a feed supply place in Milton, the same place we got the pears. It's a non-astringent type, meaning that it can be picked and eaten before fully ripe. It won't pucker your mouth like those persimmons native to the U.S. that are more seed than anything. The root stock is from the native tree, though, and the scion is Japanese.

This site by a nursery close to Tallahassee, Just Fruit and Exotics, provides a wealth of information about what to expect from various cultivars and how to care for them. Their price was considerably higher than what we found at the feed store. I'm sure if we had purchased it there, the staff would have been knowledgable and helpful. You get what you pay for. The guy at the feed store insisted that the pears were self-pollinating, but I didn't believe him. As the UF site indicates, they're not.

As in most fruitful relationships and sometimes occupations, it takes two to tango. Writing is no exception, though many people would have you believe that it must be done in solitude. I don't believe it.

There's a blogfest going on this Friday, January 21, that might just prove my point, whatever it is. I've signed up SAM to share some thoughts about me, my writing, and how it affects our relationship. Check back here on Friday to see what he has to say.

Click on this site, Cruising Altitude, to see if you and your significant other would like to participate. I know, it's short notice, but sometimes spur-of-the-moment is better than well-planned. Seize the moment!