Fall at Waitakere Gardens

Yes, it is still fall here, where the seasons change very slowly, not like in northern Michigan. 

I took this picture in front of the Police Station just a few days ago.

Between then and now, 5/20/25, I have taken some shots from around our village, mostly of flowers. Take a look.

What I'd like you to notice in this next picture, is the hanging planter on the left. 

I don't know who is responsible for this creation, but it's even nice in person than it appears in this photo. 

I'm in the Fernery here, and therefore, mostly in deep shadows. One ray of light has been moving across the area and now illuminates this spot.  

I've shown this before, but I like it, and it's slightly bigger than it was just after we moved into the village and I discovered it in our African Garden area.  It's got the Fibonacci spiral-look going on.  

I don't know what these are called, but they have such an interesting color. They appear almost black when direct sun is not on them, as it is now. Flower and shadow are then not too dissimilar.  

That's it for today. See you again soon.   -djf

Glorious Guavas Give Great Glucose. (And Fructose and Sucrose.)

It's a rainy Thursday. Mini squalls come over the Waitaks every couple of minutes and dump on us. Going out means getting wet. So what does a guy do on such a day?  

Good question.  Give in to the grumps? Growl about the weather. Well, not this grandpa. He gloats because he's got a gratifying glop of guavas to make syrup from. 

Let me show you how it's done.  (And I'll knock of G-words obsession.)    

As you can see from this picture, guavas are filled with seeds, and the skins are on the tough side. You can eat them if you want to, and I have any number of times, but it's a lot of work, for just a little pulp and juice.  

However, in my opinion the juice is superb. It would be a shame to waste such a wonderful fruit. What to do?  What to do? 

Well, you boil them of course, with a little water and mash them up after about five minutes on the stove.  

When they're cooled down, you put them in a straining cloth and extract all that glorious (oops, I promised no more g-words) juice.  

Then, you add a little more water.  I didn't measure how much more I put in, but I wanted to stretch the syrup and the juice is strong enough that I can dilute it slightly with no loss of flavor.  

I made the syrup fairly light. A ratio of about 2/3 or 3/4 sugar to 1 of juice.  

I brought the syrup to a boil for about a minute, let it cool again, and bottled it.  

I wish you could taste it.  It's amazing.    

If you ever come across some guavas, please, please try this.  You'll love it.    -djf