My Version of the Slow Food Movement

It's a totally, brilliant, sunny today. The other day's rain cleaned away dust and dirt leaving everything looking nice and sparkly. Well, except for my car which is parked under part of a Live Oak tree. I think I have the messiest trees growing in this yard. On the West side of the house is a Pecan tree. It sheds something every single quarter of the year.

Come fall, it slowly drops its leaves and is the very last tree to lose all of them. In spring, it's covered with bright lime green shaggy tassels, which while pretty, wind up browning and dropping. Sometimes the carpet they create is so thick you can't even see the patio bricks. This shedding goes on for several months and is followed by all sizes of pecans falling from it. I never really get to pick any to see if they could be eaten since the squirrels and other critters get them all. If I do find any on the ground, they're riddled with gnaw marks and pits from hungry little teeth/fangs. Then the slow leaf shedding starts all over. I'm always cleaning some of it's debris out of my potted garden.

The Live Oak in the front is a stunning and very old tree but has a similar cycle of some leaf shed, tassels, pollen (which covers the car and walkways with a lime green dust) and so on. And again, the acorns are always snagged by varmints! Then the half of an avocado tree that hangs over the backyard has a partial leaf shed, dead twig shed, followed with tiny flower puffs and finally avocados. Luckily I do get some of the avocados if I'm fast with the long pole picker! Of course I don't like avocados so I've discovered who amongst my friends have other crops (lemons, limes, oranges) and we trade. Works great! I think the more people connect and share like this, the better it will be for everyone.