Those of you who have visited Chez Hansen and Tan will know that we have a small patch of garden (=US backyard). I bought a lawnmower earlier this year so that I wouldn’t have to depend on the Rector being able to find his in his garage (it’s usually buried) and lend it to me. So yesterday I decided to mow the lawn. The mower is one of those that has no wheels; it glides on a column of air pushed down from the motor, and it’s a real gem. While mowing, I discovered a bird’s nest under our largest shrub, and took another look at the vine that’s trailing across the trellis on top of our wall. For the first time, it’s begun to flower this year. And what flowers! They are white with a purple band, with a “cup” in the middle holding stamen and pistil. Here’s a picture:
I am told by my former workmate John that this is a passion flower. It grows on a vine, and very fast, too. Here’s another picture showing several of the flowers. There are literally hundreds of buds on the vine that have yet to open; I anticipate a few days of wild colour when they do.
Also yesterday, one of our squirrels paid us a visit, and I managed to get a little picture of him eating a peanut on our windowsill.
I even got a little movie, but can’t embed that here.
But the neighbourhood must be a hotbed of strange activity. This morning I looked out the back door and saw something under our clothesline that looked from that vantage point like a very large fungus. As I’d just mowed last night, I thought it improbable that a fungus that large had grown in the space of 12 hours or so. I took a closer look, and it was a bagel.
I looked over to the fence, and there was another one:
I looked over the fence, and a third was in my neighbour’s garden. Leaving that one for the birds, I picked the other two up and threw them away. Someone must have thrown them over our wall. As to why, I have no idea. Perhaps some surreal game of horseshoes?? If so, they missed.
i love squirrels.ive always wanted one for a pet…. but i dont wanna die of rabies
Well, come live in the UK: there is no rabies here. I don’t think they’d make good pets though; they need lots of space to run around in. Their claws are fierce! One jumped up on my knee when I wasn’t quick enough in putting the peanut down. I was wearing shorts and he clawed me. I washed out the scratches and I was OK but his claws were really sharp. A pregnant or nursing squirrel mother has also been coming. I don’t normally know the sex of our visitors but this one had very prominent nipples so I suspect this is squirrel breeding season and she was eating for 5.
I know tt i’m being lame..but…the flower looks like a pokemon. heh heh
The flower gives way to a fruit about the size and shape of an egg. When ripe, it is full of seeds and gummy stuff which, mixed with water and sugar, make an excellent drink with an unforgettable, distinct flavor.
Unfortunately, this flower does not produce passionfruit, which is a tropical plant. This flower produces a fruit that has a very large seed in it and very little pulp. It’s quite sour, and there is so little pulp that it’s not worth trying to harvest. This according to my friend John.
The flowers in your picture looked just like the flowers we had on vines here in San Diego at one time. As is so often the case, the best policy is to wait and see what the plant will produce. Even if the vine is passionfruit, it may never produce the fruit. Ours had gone so long without producing that we gave up looking for the fruit. They took us by surprise.