Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Similar Yet Amazingly Different


Bowl of lychees in front of our small lychee tree

The more I know, the more I learn I don't know.... As I browse the world through blogs and have others visit my own little space, I'm realising afresh how true this is. Yesterday I read a post by Helene about lychees which were previously unknown to Helene and most her workmates (and some readers). I was amazed, I hadn't stopped to think of lychees as being unusual. Helene (and I) have since learnt that her lychees were dried ones, which I had not heard of before either.




As I was ironing school uniforms (for our teenage son who has recently started school, we homeschool our other children) in air-conditioning during the humid heat of our summer afternoon, I pondered again the everyday differences. All but the smallest schools in Australia have school uniforms. Frangipani trees are very common place in our area, yet for many they are exotic and unfamiliar.

I could hear the lawn mower as some of our children mowed our lawn, again - it currently needs mowing every few days during our wet and humid summer. Above you can see Master T, mowing under the frangipani tree, which being deciduous has begun to drop its leaves. The vine growing on the pool fence is a passionfruit vine.




Here is one of the many flowers on our passionfruit vine, which  mostly last only one day.




 We have a small lychee tree between the two fences behind Master T. It's a slow growing tropical tree. Last year it had many tiny flowers and just one fruit. This year it didn't flower at all, however we do buy  lychees occasionally, they are currently in season and cheapest.




I snapped these this morning before they all disappeared, they are so sweet and juicy! I hope you have a chance to try some for yourself one day, they are one of my favourite fruits.

It's a wonderful world with always more to learn and appreciate.

Sharing at Our World Tuesday, Tuesdays Around the World.

53 comments:

Pam said...

gorgeous passionfruit flower! and i love the last picture of the cut lychee.

Rena said...

Lovely post! I first ate lychees about 2 years ago in our town in Brazil. Indeed, they are very yummy. I only don't buy them more because they only show up for about a month and are a bit expensive at that. You are truly blessed to have them there.
And Passionfruit is one of my favorite juices! Isn't that flower just amazing? I just think God gave them a most spectacular beauty.

magiceye said...

i love lychees!

wonderful post!

Rambling Tart said...

I love this post because it reflects a few of the new things I've discovered since moving to Australia. :-) Things like paw-paw and crumpets and dragon fruit and TimTams and oh my, the list is endless. :-) I love it and my world is the richer for these new discoveries. :-)

Sylvia K said...

Another collection of breathtaking, awesome captures! I love the lychee -- I'd never seen one before! Wonderful post indeed!!

Sylvia

Jennifer {Studio JRU} said...

You taught me something new as well! :) They are so interesting and so beautiful! I have never had one... hopefully I can try one someday!

Gillian Olson said...

I love lychees too but they definitely don't grow here. Do the passion flower trees have anything to do with passion fruit? We have passion flowers here too but in sheltered locations.

Rajesh said...

Simply beautiful. I love leeches.

Reena said...

A great post and I'll have to try some lychees sometimes.

Anonymous said...

That indeed is the best thing about visiting/learning from blogs. It makes us appreciate our everyday and ordinary plants (more) when we learn how exotic others find them. Loved your pictures. The cut fruit looks most delicious! Lychees do well in our region. The response that I get for guavas and mangoes echoes your feelings.

Hope your week is good!

Unknown said...

These exotic fruits you have in your garden.
I tasted them last year at Christmas.
In Italy are in the grocery store only day of great celebrations.
The beautiful flower "Passiflora" we call it, has an intense color, exquisite detail, from pistillialla corolla.
And a perfume that enters you into it.
Nice to see is the grass green.
I recalled that in a few weeks come the Spring, with new grass.
Its color. The beauty of nature awakening, after the intense cold of this Italian winter.
Always a pleasure to gaze here.
Thank you.
Best wishes..
dandelìon

geanina said...

lovely post! i love lychees too:).
happy valentine's day :)

Joop Zand said...

Good pictures Karen....i like these Lychees.

Greetings, Joop

Happy Valentine's Day.

tinajo said...

Beautiful pics as always! :-)

Luna Miranda said...

oh wow, i haven't seen this kind of lychee before. the lychees i got from the market have yellow/beige skin. i haven't seen a lychee tree yet.:p yes, the differences and similarities from the different regions of this planet are amazing. and blogging definitely opened my eyes. love your post.

NatureFootstep said...

can´t remember tasting this fruit. But maybe now I will look for them. Great shots too. :)

Nadege, said...

I just love the passionfruit flowers.
Beautiful post.

eileeninmd said...

Wonderful post , I have never heard of lychees. If they are sweet, they must be good. the flower is gorgeous. Thanks for sharing your world.

s.c said...

Nice to see where all that wonderful fruit come from. Sometimes you have no idea.

L. Neusiedler said...

we can buy them in Austria! they are incredibly good!

Giga said...

Było bardzo mokro to i trawa szybko rośnie i niestety jest zajęcie przy jej koszeniu. Owoce liczi są ciekawe z wyglądu, jeszcze ich nie jadłam
:-(. Kwiat marakui jest cudowny. Pozdrawiam cieplutko.*** It was very wet and the grass is growing fast and, unfortunately, is to take on the mowing. Lychees are interesting in appearance, yet they do not eat
:-(. Flower Passion fruit is wonderful. Yours warm.

Tamar SB said...

Sounds and looks delicious! I have had freeze dried lychees and they are divine - I imagine fresh they are even better!

Unknown said...

I must say that lychees are unusual to me too. I've never heard of them before. But now I do want to try them. Thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

Informative post!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Deanna said...

Lychees? I have never heard of them either. Beautiful images and thank you so much for sharing this info!!

Unknown said...

I to have never heard of Lychees. They are such a beautiful fruit. Thanks so much for sharing it with us. Your photos are gorgeous..

shirley said...

Wow, that passion fruit flower is amazing - I've never seen one before.
As for lychees, I LOVE them. I don't think I've purchased fresh ones in the US, I'm not even sure if the regular grocery store offers them.
So, we have to settle for canned ones, which are OK in a pinch.
You have a lovely blog and I will be back - thank you for your kind comments on my blog!

Anonymous said...

We used to live in Thailand, so I tried Lychee there. Unheard of here in the USA. Thailand has a lot of lychee flavored candies and other treats as well. Frangipani was also my favorite flower in Thailand. They have such an amazing fragrance! My hubs bought me a pink one for Valentine's Day 6 yrs ago, it is planted in my former yard in Bangkok. I miss it so much!

EG CameraGirl said...

I love lychees! Here near Toronto we can buy them fresh and in cans. I like them best fresh.

Karin M. said...

This is another fantastic photo mix, I like your shots very well.
The quality and the colors are fantastic.
Love greetings, Karin

Connie Smiley said...

Your blog is always a refreshing oasis. I've never seen lychees, let alone tasted them, but I hope I get to some day. Gorgeous photos!

Unknown said...

how wonderful to have a lychee tree- we love lychees- they don't last very long here!

Hilda R.B said...

So wonderful a lychee tree. I have never seen this before. Thanks for sharing this series.
Happy Valentine`s day to you.
Greetings from Hilda

laveta'splace said...

I've never heard of lychees before, but that photo makes me want to try them.
I love the passionflower. They are so beautiful and perfect.

Nona said...

Wow, thank you for sharing Karen, I've never tried one, but I can't wait to try one some day! Beautiful pictures. Blessings, Nona

Juliana said...

Very interesting post!
Cool pics!
I've never seen lychees before...
looks tasty...
xoxo, Juliana

Anonymous said...

What a great post! And the lychee...well, those I would definitely try! LOL So glad I follow your blog...there's something new and different and beautiful all the time. Happy Valentine's Day!

ally said...

I've always thought lychees were like eyeballs....my husband loves them though!!
Love the passion flower

Dave said...

I found this blog fascinating Karen. Like others I had never heard of lychees, but as I like to try different fruits it seems like a good one to try. My wife Jill has heard of them. Here apparently we can buy them canned. Jill says they have quite a slimy texture. I would like to try to grow them but as we get some frosts in winter and moderate temperatures they may not grow here. - Dave

Kateri said...

I've tried them once (I'm one of those people who tries all the unusual fruits in the grocery store)...and after reading your post, I am guessing they weren't ripe, because they didn't taste very good at all. I will have to look for them them again.

LadyFi said...

So true - what's exotic for one country is normal for another....

I guess that means snow is exotic for you, but a common sight for me!

I do love lychees!

thefisherlady said...

always intrigued and amazed at what is commonplace for you in your part of the world! All that you show us is so extravegantly unique and beautiful for us... for the moment, common place in our part of the world is a world of snow crystals... they sparkle in the sun and moonshine, taste refreshing and make great snow cones with some juice over it, or a stick dipped in maple syrop twisted in it. We eat frozen cranberries and rosehips still hanging on their branches and it is almost time to hang out the buckets for gathering birch sap for syrup.... such different worlds! What an amazing God we have!

Susan said...

I would love to have a Lychee tree in my garden, to bad we don't have the right weather. As a child I would spend a large amount of my pocketmoney on canned lychees. Now a day I buy them on the market if there in season.
I love your pictures, they're a window to see a bit of the other half of the world!

黄清华 Wong Ching Wah said...

You have a Lychee tree in your backyard ! way too cool ...

Isabelle said...

Blogs are a good way to expand our vision about the world, about people and culture... lifestyles; we are all learning from each other :)
thanks for this post!

Liz said...

Oh, I LOVE lychees! So sweet and juicy - YUM.
Gorgeous capture of the passionfruit flower.

Lisa Gordon said...

I have not seen these before!
I have heard of them, and you can buy them canned here, but never knew what they looked like.
Thank you!!!

LOVE that passion flower!

Jeanne said...

Have never had one of these and do not think they are available in Texas. Will have to see if i can find some to try. Looks yummy

Cathy said...

I loved the beginning words of this post...how very true. It keeps me humble and always anticipating the joy of new discovery.

The inside of the lychees look like jellybeans lying in a pool of gel. I wish I could taste one.

Amanda said...

Love your blog (new follower). We have lychees and frangipanis here in the Bahamas too! And all of our schools have uniforms as well. :)

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

Welcome Amanda, I enjoy following your blog too. Looks like we have more in common than I realised.
Karen

Ruby said...

These fruits are so juicy and yummy. And the passion flower shot is beautiful! Cheers, Ruby

Jana said...

fantastic shots of this yummy fruit...as European I was extremely happy to collect some myself for first time in my life last december on our trip to Reunion island....

you are so lucky, the passon flowers blossoms are a great threat as well! enjoy+thanks for sharing!

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