Life After Death

~ Wanderlets ~ 1 Comment
We saw this flame tree in another yard and had to have one.

Tabachines trees, also know as Flame trees with it’s big red blooms, are common in Mexico and other warm climates. They are fast growers and have tropical looking leaves that give a nice dappled shade.

Unfortunately, we have planted and lost two Flame trees in the same planter.

Flame tree #2 lived the longest, two years. I took this picture the middle of August and by August 31st it was obviously dying.
We went on vacation this summer and the moment we got home, I rushed to the balcony to check the tree and take a picture.
Here it has lost most of the leaves with the remainder soon to follow. It gave us such privacy but also allowed us to grow lettuce, chard, and other greens as it kept the blazing sun and heat off our raised garden area. After losing two trees, one a mango, on the same day two years ago in this part of the planter, we decided not to cut this one down, but instead plan to decorate and light up the branches.

Because we have warm weather year round, trees grow quickly. We once stuck the broken off branch of a Moringa tree in the ground and less than two years later it had grown into a tree taller than our house.

Earlier this week we drove to Arizona for our yearly doctor’s appointments and shopping. We returned yesterday and today noticed new growth on the supposed dead Flame tree. Oh happy day!!

There it is, new green growth at the top and there are a couple of shoots at the bottom part of the tree.

2. Now we move on to the papaya trees and a new birth.

These two papaya trees were damaged by Tropical Storm Rosa in 2018 but survived. Two years ago we extended our deck and the smaller one was a casualty of the construction.
The bigger papaya produced fruit ten times tastier than the grocery store variety. The raccoons liked the fruit too.
The tree fell over two months ago and there wasn’t even a storm.
However, the tree that fell over gave us a baby last year and today we see blooms for the first time. We should leave town more often.

3. Will this blog return from the dead? I have a list of posts I want to write but today discovered that my 7 year old Mac computer’s operating system is no longer supported by Apple and now doesn’t work with my blogging software. I did this post on my phone and it was a real struggle. Fortunately unfortunately we are making the long drive to Tucson again in two weeks and I will buy a new laptop.

4. Last but not least, one year ago this month I was on my way to the best cancer hospital in the US: MD Anderson in Houston. I was 100% sure it was curtains for me and in fact had started donating my clothes. But here I am to tell you that very long story another day.