Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Messy Mamey

The mamey zapote tree is quite active these days.  The tree is full of fruit, and one has been taste tested.  They are good this year!  I tasted one that wasn't quite ripe, and after all that description of flavors described in this previous post, I thought it tasted like the almond flavor they put in Chinese cookies. If we can figure out how to get the ripe ones down from the very top of the tree without them smashing on the concrete, I will be happy to share with the people I know who really like this fruit. 

The time has come for mamey tree to shed its winter leaves and rapidly grow the summer set.  This photo was taken a few days ago and since then the tree has lost almost all the leaves you see lingering here.
This is where the leaves have gone.
These photos are only a couple days' collection of leaves, as Pablo has been ritually sweeping them up daily for a couple weeks now.  Finally he threw down the broom and decided to wait for it to finish!
It is hard to capture what I wanted to in the photo below, but I think you can get the idea.  The tree is going to produce five times as much fruit next year by the looks of all the babies on the limbs. 
As trees go, this would have to rate up near the top of hassle trees. It seems to make several varieties of messes in the entire patio area.  But, there is something that draws me to this tree.  I love to watch the bizarre changes it goes through during the course of a year.  It is the cat's escape route to the other side.What's more, it's my meditation tree.

2 comments:

Merida Mikey said...

If you (we) can figure a way to get the mamey down from the tree, I'll be more than happy to eat all you can harvest!

Mamey is one of my favorite fruits and I look forward to eating some from your tree (which just happens to be loaded)!

Linda Dorton said...

I swear if I hear the horqueta man on the street I will buy a tall fruit picker. Or at least write it on my list to go find one.