News Around The Island

La Quinta, California: Things have been quiet around here as whatever I caught hung around for longer than was even polite. I tested twice for COVID and both were negative. After talking to a few people and one actual physician, maybe it was RSV? Who knows? No idea where I would have caught this bug as I wear a mask everytime I leave the house and wore one on the cruise, and the cough didn't show up until five/six days after the cruise... so mystery. This old body hasn't been sick for so long, and is so heavily vaccinated, maybe my immune system isn't working as it should? Not used to fighting off germs?

Anyway, after staying home ten days coughing, I finally ventured out to the golf course, mask-less, and played 18 holes with DT. Our weather has just been fantastic - days in the high 70s/low 80s - with gorgeous blue skies.

The sun has helped the fruit in our "orchard" ripen. As I wrote previously, last year we had 48 oranges on our tiny tree (counted and named by Lucile) and just a few lemons. This year, they have flipped. Zillions of lemons, ripening just as we seem to need one or two in the kitchen, and 8 oranges. Eight!

Oh, should I also point out all the gorgeous roses blooming now? Behind the orange tree is a very young lemon tree. We did not plant it, but it can't be 5 or 6 years old. This small lemon tree also has a lot of lemons, but our "old" lemon tree is simply sagging with fruit.

The other day we harvested most of the oranges. They are sweet again this year, and the peel is easily removed, but they are loaded with seeds.

And that is all there is to report, as I continue to mend (and cough). There is another Five O'clock report in the works. Dinner is still served each evening. A girl needs to keep up her strength!

How's the weather in your neck of the woods?

Until my next update, your farming correspondent.

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