Lemon tree very pretty and reflecting a bit

Who else remembers the Peter, Paul, and Mary song “Lemon Tree?” As with all their songs, the melody was lovey, although I had to disagree with the last line of the chorus:

Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
But the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat
Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
But the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat

Okay, perhaps you don’t actually eat a lemon on its own, but the fruit is pretty darn good! I start most mornings with a glass of warm water and the juice of half a lemon. I also sometimes make a ginger-lemon drink that’s very good and good for me. This lemon tree is at Queen Creek Olive Mill. They grow quite a bit of what they use/sell at the mill store.

And for “blue” this week, let’s venture to a completely different sort of surroundings, to downtown Chicago once again where there are plenty blues for today.

Lemon leaf

A few weeks ago, a neighbor a few houses away had a table on the sidewalk with sacks of lemons on it and signs saying “Free.” I grabbed a couple bags, piled them in an attractive bowl, grabbed my phone, and looked for a place with good light. The leaves were attractive, the lemons tart and delicious.

for Life in Colour: green

Yellow…drink it in!

I greatly miss the delicious variety of apples we were able to get in both Ohio and Illinois, but each place has its specialties. In Arizona, one of them is citrus (and we’re also eating soft, delicious dates from Yuma, Arizona.) Driving home a few days ago, I noticed a neighbor had a table on the sidewalk in front of their house filled with plastic grocery bags of something and big box as well. I made a swift U-turn and discovered the fruit was lemons, mostly enormous and all delicious-looking! I took a good bagful and when the next day arrived with bags still available, we took another one.

As the saying goes, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. So far I’ve made lemonade for my parents as well as for us and as the pitcher is waiting to be washed, another round is in the near future. I really think I should do something with the peels and I have to look up some other recipes soon to make the best use of them, the best use except for photos. 🙂 I also make a ginger-lemon drink that’s quite good warm or cold and of course very healthy as well.

This Graphite app is made by BeCasso but the photo is the one above by me.

for Jude’s Life in Colour/color 21

Friday flowers…Pride-of-Barbados

I saw these on my walk this morning and was instantly enamored. Learning their name (aka peacock flowers, dwarf poincianas and red bird-of-paradise) only made me love them more.

By the way, it was a 17-lemon walk!!! I didn’t want to carry all those lemons for a several mile walk, so I hid the bag behind a nearby bougainvillea and picked them up on the way home. More lemonade tomorrow.

Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend!

If life gives you lemons

There’s a saying, “If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” Where I usually walk, there’s a lemon tree heavy with fruit on the other side of the wall next to the sidewalk. The first time I walked by, there were some lemons along the path (yes, of course I picked them up!), so I started taking a bag along. Today I hit the jackpot: 5 lovely lemons.

I looked online to find some recipes/proportions for lemonade. Starting with simple syrup seemed to be the thing to do, but proportions varied greatly.

Phoneography Challenge: Macro…if life give you lemons…

Over Thanksgiving weekend, we visited the newest location of HipCityVeg, in the University City section of Philadelphia. The food was excellent and the restaurant decorated for Christmas. On the counter was a large cooler filled with water, ice and lemon slices, a beautiful, refreshing look that drew my gaze immediately. The workers were a bit bemused when I came to take a photo but when one woman peeked at my shots, she said, “Wow!”, a spontaneous comment that I appreciated. Despite the frigid weather today, the shot still looks fresh and appealing to me. I hope it does to you, too.

The Phoneography Challenge is open to anyone who takes photos with a phone or iThing. Each Monday has its own theme and as this is the second Monday of the month, the theme is “Macro.” Click on the word to go to Sally’s site to enter or simply view the various submissions by clicking on the links. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did.