Papaya Tree Update

One of our papaya trees is no longer producing.  Someone told Art that they really produce well for only two years.  Seems to me that other tree took two years to produce.  It wasn't until I threatened it that it started working up any fruit.

However... going back to that other papaya tree.  A friend advised us to cut the tree and put a can on it.  Now that sounded really weird.  A can?  Then I discovered why.  The center of the papaya tree is hollow.

The bird prevention covering we put up is continuing to work and we're still getting fruit to eat.  Thank goodness!

 Here's the center of the trunk.  Without a can on it, it would collect rain water and rot.

I guess we'll see if any shoots will grow from the sides and if they'll provide any fruit.  Time will tell.

We can check this off our list of things to do now before we leave for Chicago.  We've already made provisions to have my nephew and his wife keep Mom company while we're gone.  My brother will also be here to make sure everything is going well.  The neighbors are also all vigilant and watch over her like a hawk.  I love it.  That's what makes living here in Hawaii so wonderful!

Congratulations! It's a Boy!

Art planted these two papaya trees with the hopes of having mountains of fruit everyday. Then he learned that there were male and female plants. However, no worries! He found information on the web that said male plants were VERY RARE so he was confident that he had a female tree that would bear more fruit than he could handle. He figured he'd have enough to share with the neighbors, with the relatives... who knows? Maybe he'd have to sell them at the farmers market.



My mother laughingly teased that he probably had a male plant because the flowers kept appearing, then drooping off. No symbolism here. Last night Art looked at photos of male and female flowers online and discovered that we 99.9% probably do have a male plant. Female flowers have a much plumper bud.



We don't know what the other tree is. We're hoping it's either a female who will have a nice male companion close by or a hermaphrodite. In which case... what do we do with that useless guy?

Art says that since it's very rare, we could just admire it.

Jet Lagged in Hawaii

Tif and KC are here! They arrived safely yesterday but the 5 hour time difference and 9 hour flight time took its toll on all three. Ed continued on his connecting flight to Kauai. Tif and KC were exhausted. KC had a hard time falling asleep and was up this morning at 3:00 AM. We brought her into our bedroom so that her mommy could get some rest.

We took a trip to visit my aunt in Pauoa Valley at the foothills of Punchbowl crater. The crater holds a National cemetery. My aunt is a true gardener and shared a lot of her fabulous lettuce and swiss chard with us. Hawaii is an expensive place to live but with everybody sharing what they have, we can be comfortable.


This is my aunt's dog. His name is Poochie and he's not liking the hot Hawaiian sun here.


KC slept through the entire visit. She is thoroughly jet lagged and is a teeny bit on the crabby side. When she first saw us she reached out with a little frown on her face as if to say, "Where have you two been?"


This evening Art planted a papaya tree at the side of the house. KC had fun helping to water it. We hope it will yield some delicious fruit that we can share also.