28 June 2013

Swamp lilies

     I have no idea what this plant's called but it grows well almost everywhere...in sand close to the water and in low swampy land along the edge of the creek.  It's got a huge bulb that looks like an onion, with fleshy roots; and though it grows into a large clump it doesn't spread fast or far enough to be invasive.  



     And its exotic bloom's so white it seems to glow.



21 June 2013

And among the guests an artist

     Andre Shank, one of the guests from Virginia, is an artist.  He's  a prolific painter so he's adding new work to his blog pretty regularly.  I've got two of Andre's paintings, one a gift from him and two of the other guests; and one I bought later.   
     Two of the paintings on his blog are portraits of people he met while at False Bluff.  Mr. Allen (also see May 8, 2012 post) and Mr. Allen's neighbor Ariel, both of whom live on the beach north of my place.   You can see Andre's work, including the portraits of Mr. Allen and Ariel on horseback, at his blog.   Check it out to find the portraits of these two people:
     Mr. Allen and Andre at the Caribbean Dream Hotel on Bluefield's main street.

     
     Ariel heading past False Bluff on his way to El Bluff and then to work in Bluefields.


14 June 2013

Guests

     Five guests from Virginia visited False Bluff recently.

  

07 June 2013

Passion fruit

     Another flower...pretty like the water hyacinth; but this one is more than just pretty.   The passion fruit, known in Nicaragua as calala, produces a delicious fruit as well as a pretty flower.  Different varieties of passion fruit grow in a lot more places than Nicaragua, including Virginia in corn and tobacco fields.   
     According to some sources the name 'passion fruit' is attributable to early missionaries somewhere who compared parts of the flower to the 'passion' or torture of Jesus:  the three stigmas of the flower reflected the three nails that nailed him to a cross; the twisty tendrils of the vine were like the whips that were used on him; and the ten petals of the flower 'resembled' the apostles (although I heard somewhere there were twelve apostles).  All whimsy, but a lovely flower nonetheless.
        
   
     And from each flower comes a fruit.  In markets in Bluefields the variety of calala for sale is smaller than what we have growing wild at False Bluff; and the fruit in the markets there have yellow, wrinkled skin.  
       Below are shown two vines that grow right outside the kitchen.  We made some serious inroads into this batch on a recent visit. 


  
     
     We pick our pale green variety, slice off the top 1/4 or so, and scoop out and eat the insides with a spoon, seeds and all.  The fruit also makes a delicious drink.