Today is a home day as I for one am feeling guilty about leaving the dogs for so long yesterday. Our regime of finger sized bananas are also ripening so banana consumption is on the increase.
Over the past two weeks we have harvested all the bread fruit from the lower branches of the big tree in the yard. Lisa however, has noticed that further up in the tree there are three good sized fruits and has offered to climb the tree to retrieve them.
Despite the height of the tree, Kerriann had agreed as she knows how agile and strong Lisa is through her mountain climbing.
A rope has been fashioned into a climbing aid and Lisa is about to 'climb for her supper'.
After the initial barren area of the trunk was conquered,
the rest of the climb was easy but Lisa kept herself roped to the main trunk just to be safe as she reached out along the branches.
The first fruit was gathered by Lisa easily
and lowered down by rope to the waiting arms of Kerriann.
Lisa relocated the rope to another vantage point and reached out for another fruit.
The branch began to sag under her weight as she inched along it.
Unsure of the strength found in this type of wood she edged back towards the main trunk and thought of a new plan.
The rake was sent up by another rope and still firmly attached by her base rope, Lisa again reached out, this time snagging the fruit with the end of the rake.
A short sharp twist and the fruit was free to fall into Kerriann's arms.
The third fruit was procured in the same way and with our harvest basket full Lisa began her decent.
She fashioned a sling with which to lower herself from the lofty branches and in admirable abseil fashion she quickly and efficiently lowered her way to the floor.
Her part in the operation was over.
Kerriann then took over with the preparation and storage of the bread fruit. From experience she knew that they would go soft within the next 24 hours and so they needed to be prepared straight away. One of the bread fruit had already reached its soft ripened stage.
The firm ones were peeled and sliced and steamed for the shortest time before being cooled and put into the fridge. The flesh of the ripened soft fruit was scrapped into a bowl and mixed with chopped garlic, onion, tomato, sweetcorn and seasoning.
The resulting mixture was then fashioned into 'patty's' by being dipped in flour and shallow fried. While some were simply 'sealed' as Kerriann called it in the hot frying pan, others were allowed continue in their cooking.
These hot ones were served with a salad and eagerly consumed as a reward for a good mornings work while the sealed ones were put into the refrigerator to be heated up later! Both of the dogs tucked into the left over ripened skin of the bread fruit their breath smelling sweet as they returned to our sides on the decking.
We rested for a few hours in the bright sun until a huge squall brought clouds wind and rain pouring into the valley. Lisa was determined to go for a swim in the rain and Kerriann was happy to join her.
Just before Kerriann entered the water however she spotted a catamaran overturning behind Lisa. The sailing school had ushered all their boats into the relative protection of the bay away from the ferociousness of the squall and yet the wind inside the bay was still a force to be reckoned with.
Lisa as mentioned before is a qualified sailing instructor and so she watched with interest to see if the students could right the boat unaided. Try as they might they did not have the weight needed to pull the boat over so Lisa swam out to them to lend a hand.
Another boat dropped a fifth person off and still their combined weight was only just turning the craft. A speed boat pulled along side and with the gentlest of hands lifted the tip of the mast from the sea. Instantly the craft righted itself and amidst calls of thanks for Lisa's aid they set off down the bay to sit out the passing squall. Lisa and Kerriann returned to the shore and played with the dogs in the shallow water as the rain abated and calm returned to the bay.
The sun loungers were once again brought down the the waters edge allowing Lisa and I to enjoy the returned sunshine
while Kerriann prepared everyone rewarding bowls of Ice cream and fresh bananas!
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