Free Range Friday ~ Free Food

Free food? Really? Where? In your yard. Or your neighbors yard, though you might want to be a good neighbor to collect on that one. It's that time of year when food is growing all over the island; mangoes, bananas, plantains, cashews, avocados, breadfruit, limes, oranges, grapefruits and much more. Trees carefully planted and tended over the years do their magic thing, giving food and helping us breathe - it is wonderment right before our faces. Thank a tree today. The tree might not care, but whether it does or not? You'll be better for it. 

I know some of you read that title and thought I was going to go all over wasted food in markets and restaurants. Another day.

The 'food' here is not evident yet. All those little white things turn into red berries. Truthfully, I don't know how they are for human consumption but to chickens, they are like candy. 

Mangoes of all shapes and sizes are growing fast. We're watching and waiting!

Bananas or plantains - I think plantains

Dwarf pomegranate

Ok, time out. While I was looking for a good link to give for the dwarf pomegranate, I thought of a name and book I'd not thought of for awhile. I'm sure I've mentioned her in this blog before; she's one of my heroes on a lot of levels (I don’t want to suppose. I want to know. -Julia Frances Morton). 

Julia Morton wrote the book Fruits of Warm Climates, which, incredibly, you can read (and download) totally online -the book goes in and out of print but until the satellites crash, it is always online. 

Each fruit is written about in great and creative description, her fascination with every aspect of each apparent. Such as the beginning of her description of the pomegranate "Steeped in history and romance and almost in a class by itself, the pomegranate, Punica granatum L., belongs to the family Punicaceae which includes only one genus and two species, the other one, little-known, being P. protopunica Balf. peculiar to the island of Socotra."

If you go to the above link, you can read more and also check out just about any tropical fruit you can think of, and probably a lot you've never heard about. Have fun.

Banagoes

I was in a yard once and asked what were those dark fruits on that tree? The homeowner didn't know. It turned out to be the most delicious plums I've ever tasted, before or since. No matter where you are, Spring brings food to us in one form or another, so keep your eyes open (and always ask permission!).

Have a free food finding Friday. Do something  foreseeable.