LYCHEE

Didn't know there was such a thing, until my neighbor brought me a bag of them. The meat is the texture of a grape, but the skin is hard and rough. It's not really sweet, but they are good.

After devouring them, I had all these seeds. Like I always do, I look online to learn more about them. The tree can be grown from seed. So I did. I planted 5 seeds ten days ago. Two have sprouted. They only grow in Hardiness Zone 10 and 11. I live in Zone 10.

The meat slides right off the seed.

I put them in water for about a week until the skin split.

The little tree is fragile.
It will be kept in a protected area.

MY PLANTS

Yesterday was a day to tend to my plants. I have a few potted plants that I have acquired over the last couple years. The Christmas Palm trees that came up from seed, were getting too big to all be in one pot. Yesterday was the day to separate them. 






My pineapple are growing, and doing well. They should be ready to harvest in July.











I need to help the bamboo palms that were here when I moved in, they are not growing at all. Too much sun?  Not enough water? Not enough dirt? Not sure, but they need help.

After I finished watering everything, I was standing there admiring the tropical plants and looked up into the banana plants. Just the other day, I looked to see if we were going to have banana this year, and didn't see a bloom. But, after a little wind, a bloom had fallen into sight. Yay, we will have banana.  

In my little yard, I have coconuts, pineapple and bananas. I also have three young Key Lime trees. Yummy!

COINS

I have a small collection of old coins, or coins from other countries. I run across them in various places. Today, I found a penny that is 100 years old. Just think of all the pockets that penny has traveled in, and how many things that penny has purchased. In the year 1919, an abundance of pennies were minted... so they are not really rare, but this is the first one I have found.

These are my two Buffalo Nickels. The date is legible on one, 1927. But it has completely worn off the other coin.

I have coins from Australia, Arabia, Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, Great Britain, Mexico, Norway, Panama, Switzerland and Turkey.

What I would really like to find is a chest full of gold and silver coins from a sunken ship! Wouldn't that be fun!

MY LITTLE PINEAPPLE

About a month ago, I was watering my plants and noticed my pineapple plants looked funny. I looked closer and could see the start of a little pineapple in both my plants. This is strange because I just planted the tops last July! When I harvested those tops, the plant was two years old. These plants are only 7 months old. I must have a green thumb.

3/16/19

MEMBER OF THE CLUB

Several years ago, I decided I wanted a tattoo. I've known what I wanted for a few years now, but just never got it. My birthday was a few days ago, and I was given a tattoo as a gift.

My mother called it my brand, but I know she loves me. I wanted something that would symbolize my living in Key West, because I know I will not live here forever. A "Saltwater Conch" is a person born in Key West, while the term "Freshwater Conch" refers to a resident not born in Key West but who has lived in Key West for seven years or more. I'm only two years away from Freshwater Conch status. 

This will probably be my one and only tattoo, but you never know!

CHANGE, NOT FOND OF IT

For the past year, at least, I have been complaining about my phone and needing a newer model. I know my friends were tired of hearing my complaints.

Four years ago, I moved to Verizon and with this new service, I got a free iPhone 4s. I know... it was free because it was already outdated. But, I was happy with it because it did everything I needed it to do. Time went on, newer, bigger data eating phones and apps came out. One by one, my apps quit working because I needed to update the app... but my phone's operating system could not support the newer version. I couldn't update the operating system because I did not have enough memory. Month by month my phone became a little dumber. Now, she is utterly stupid!

When Messenger quit working, that was the last straw. I went to Verizon and talked to the guys there. (Yes, they laughed at my phone too.) In order to have a newer phone, I have to get a better plan, one with more data because the newer phones have to have it. My concern has always been the monthly charge. A bigger bill every month is not in my budget. Good news is, I got an iPhone 6 and an upgraded plan for the same amount each month. Don't laugh... a 6 is better than a 4!

I admit that 4 years of service from a phone is unheard of for most people. I like to think of myself as thrifty, and I don't like change.

Well, I just picked up my new iPhone 6s. They had to order one, and did make a little joke about it was probably waaaaay back in the warehouse, covered in dust. Hopefully this 6s is a lot smarter than his stupid little brother, my 4s.

PADDLING ROUTE 8

Well, that was a workout!!  

This route is called Five-Mile Creek. You paddle about .6 nautical mile in open water to the main entrance to the creek. The Paddling Guide stated that the currents can get strong at full moons. He was not joking! We were going in on a flood tide and the wind behind us. It was great, very relaxing, with very little paddling, just basically keeping the nose pointed in the right direction. 

And then we turned around to start back. HOLY CRAP! It was hard work and very slow going. Sheri and I had to stop a couple times to rest and catch our breath. Sheri's boyfriend went with us this time, and he stayed at the entrance and fished while we paddled on. 

As we were coming back to the entrance, I heard yelling... like happy yelling. I looked up and saw two skydivers. The Sugarloaf airport is just a quarter mile from the entrance. The wind was whipping them around pretty good. Looked a little scary to me. That is an adventure I don't think I could do. I have a problem with heights. However, when I did the Zipline in Costa Rica, I thought that was fun.

Route #8, check. 
This is one route that is best done with little wind and at slack tide.