THE AVOCADO AND I

Once upon a time there was an avocado sitting on a tree somewhere on an avocado farm. Along came the farmer who picked the avocado and sent it to the grocery store where I bought it and brought it home to eat. This was such a lovely round and delicious avocado that I decided to take the plump round pit and balance it on two tooth picks above a glass of water to see if it would start to grow roots. Sure enough after a few weeks roots appeared and the avocado pit was ready to be planted in a pot of dirt outside on the patio.  AND A SQUIRREL ATE IT !

And so I bought a second avocado and started all over again.  This time I planted the seed that started sprouting roots in a pot that I kept on the screened in lanai so nothing could get at it. This pit continued to grow into a 3 foot tall tree with lovely green leaves.  Because it was doing so well I put it in a larger pot and placed it outside in the bright sun and it flourished ! It grew taller and wider and it was HAPPY!
      UNTIL IT FROZE !  All the leaves fell off and I was left with a 4 foot bare stick. Gerry told me it was dead and I should throw it out but I had faith and I left it alone and low and behold as the weather warmed up the leaves began to reappear and the tree returned to life.

As the years passed I decided I wanted to plant the now 5 foot tall tree outside the fence between our pool and the lake to see what it would do. Ger wasn't too excited about the idea. My son-in-law didn't like the idea that it would block the view of the lake but I really wanted to see if we could get avocados on the tree. And so one afternoon about 3 years ago Kent and Gerry gave in and planted the little avocado tree out by the lake.

Here's my tree today.   I'm guessing maybe 25 - 30 feet tall and healthy and beautiful and the very best thing of all . . .

   IT IS FULL OF AVOCADOS !      I had just about given up on this tree that we were ever going to get an avocado when yesterday I was outside cleaning up the patio and I sat for a moment looking out at the lake and the tree. Something on the tree caught my eye so I got up to see what it was and there it was, an avocado. I stood there staring in disbelief at the  grapefruit sized huge green fruit when I saw another one and another one and another one and another one. The tree is FULL of them !!!!!!!!  I had researched the Internet and read that sometimes avocados bought in the store will  not reproduce when their pits are planted. Ger was convinced that we needed another tree to cross pollinate our tree. We had completely given up all hope of ever having an avocado grow on this tree and now I have to start going up and down the street handing out avocados to my neighbors because I am over run with the damn things.  

ISN'T IT GREAT !!

I Wonder if I can make Avocado cookies ?