Dragonfruit Beauty

The days are shorter here in the N. Hemisphere! How is it feeling for you?

Presently, I find myself brimming with delight! This used to be a very hard time of year for me. I would feel down and just try to get to through until the winter solstice when the days finally began getting longing again. To my surprise, a few years ago I realized that I was no longer sad in this season. In this season, that I had learned from my mom was okay to feel sad.

Of course, feeling sad is okay, but it makes more sense when you’re grieving something. For me my drive to be productive ALL the time, made this season incredibly hard. During the long nights of latter fall and winter, it was no longer safe to run into the evening. My body would be tired and I would find myself sleepy when I sought to focus on mental and work tasks at the end of the day.

A few years ago, I began to attune myself more to the seasons. I switched my workout times to the middle of the day whenever possible and did them outside whenever possible. I began getting up earlier to establish and maintain a morning routine for my wellness. This meant I often caught the sunrise and thus all the daylight that the day offered. I did quieter and slower things: writing, reading, playing guitar.

Today I took time outside before buckling down to work. I went out and worked on a gardening task left over from the weekend - a task I had never done. Transplanting dragonfruit.

It is this transplanting that is bringing me joy, despite the scratches on my arm implying a cat fight and the mosquito bite on my belly(!) from the cropped top I was wearing. (How I long for the SoCal days before mosquitoes made their home here.) My bliss was so great in this work, that I wasn’t aware of these tokens until I began to clean up.

Integrated living is a manner of investing one’s time and energy into things that make the world a better place - better for you and those around you. It’s a value-based approach to living - living aligned with your soul’s longings and not necessarily cultural values. It looks like many things and is an ongoing process of reflection and alignment.

Today it looks, in part, like growing my own fruits and vegetables, making the property I live on better for me and those who come onto the property now and in the future (this includes consideration of the animals, insects, and environment around me), and reaping the reward of earlier asking a community member for the clipping to begin my home dragonfruit adventure.

Have you tried dragonfruit? When I first trialed it, I wanted to know what the deal was about. I bought one from the local natural food store. Absurdly, I think I spent almost $10 for this little novelty. My excitement turned to utter disappointment as I realized my investment was giving me ¼ pound of jicama-flavored kiwi textured edible flesh and seeds that made a mockery of the exquisite appearance - fuchsia-toned exterior and white inner flesh pocked with little black seeds.

Well, at least now I knew. I knew because I tried and there was rewarding in the knowing. I didn’t need to wonder about dragon fruit any longer.

Then on my mid-life crisis sabbatical a few years back, I ventured to Colombia and my wondering returned. I noticed street merchants and grocery stores yellow dragon fruit piled high. What about these? I followed my curiosity, but a single fruit and went home to immediately eat it. What a delight! My efforts were rewarding with chin dripping sweetness and I ate it in its entirety. I repeated these steps the following day.

It occurred to me later: “Of course, grocery store versions were blah! And of course local produce is infinitely better. Of course!” Shopping internationally is out of line with integrated living; of course it is less satisfying!

Back here in SoCal, I have clippings that I received based on my request from the mechanic at the bottom of the hill.

I’ve been growing them for over two years in a blue hardware store 5-gallon bucket. (Yes, that is the kind of gardener I am!) As a renter, I don’t have a place to garden and the soil is questionable anyway, so it’s pot gardening over here!

I have been haphazardly caring for the dragon fruit for two years, eventually giving up hope that we’d get fruit from my efforts, because, well, the bucket pot and well, I don’t really know that I’m doing. I was content that it was growing so meanderingly and realized it could serve as a barrier for the dog run I’ve been dreaming of for our non-fenced yard.

Prior to the heat wave of August and September, I moved the now sprawling, tumbling and neglected dragon fruit bucket from the hot driveway to a narrow strip along the fence behind the garage. (Sorry no pre-photo). I thought it might appreciate the break from the frying pan that the asphalt becomes in the summer heat; and it might find more support from the narrow space for the previously poorly supported appendages.

Then three weeks ago. Pow! I was watering it and saw these tendrils!

“What is that? OMG! It’s a flower! It’s growing FRUIT,” I realized! My mouth virtually watered.

With the prospect of fruit and finalizing the dog run, this weekend we FINALLY mozied back over to the hydroponic store that had all manner of pots CHEAP and purchased various sizes that would adequately span the space between garage and fence so that our 10 pound Morkie who fancies himself as neighborhood patrol and is want to chase dogs and delivery folks down the driveway might be contained.

Dragon fruit plants, if you’re not aware, are dangerous. These succulents have thorns all over them. I didn’t know how to get these out and not slice myself up AND to not break the fragile, now heavy, sprawling limbs.

I was not deterred. I am prone to over-analysis, but I had a small window of time today and I was committed to getting the dragon fruit out of the blue 5-gallon prison and into their new massive home(s) - a 20 gallon and 12 gallon pot and a much smaller fella to fill the mini space along a curb that our light-weight enforcer might sneak through.

I tried to reach in and pull. No, that would not work. This was too rooted. I tried to break a line and get wedges out with a hand spade. Not going to happen and far too pokey.

“Okay. You need to go for it.” I decided.

I went and filled our watering can and poured into into the blue 5-gallon. Then like I have with much smaller, less brittle, and less thorny plants I gingerly tipped the bucket on the side the long fingers of the dragon fruit fanning over to the ground. I bopped the side of the bucket and then began to shake it on an angle. It came out and didn’t broken all the branches in the process!

But the clippings had so proliferating not just above ground, but also below. It was one tight wad of root-bound soil (5-gallon sized). I took the knowledge I had of transplanting seedlings to work but on a march larger forceful scale - utilizing hand spade, sharp kitchen scissors and an electric trimmer to get the job done before finally getting them separated into separate plants for replanting.

There was joy in and after this process for so many reasons. This happens when you are living in an integrated fashion.

• I was building something for my dogs - so they can run safely and be outside at home.

• By making the run safe, I am making life less stressful for my partner and me.

• I was connecting to nature by getting my hands in the dirt, and communing, and learning from plant and insect life.

• I was being active and using my body - carrying things, bending, squatting, reaching, and many steps back and forth from place to place.

• I knew I could connect to others by sharing my experience, so I took pictures and video.

• I had precious sun hitting my skin and felt the warmth - even sweating under my wide-brimmed hat.

• I have additional use and motivation for my vermi-composting. (Did you know that soil, not dirt, is a huge CO2 sink?)

• I am making the property I live on more beautiful.

• I am giving increasing space for insects to live and thrive, which is no small thing when the “gardeners” that come 2x/month courtesy of my landlords blow off all the top soil and cut plants to an inch of their life and the landlords who pave most of the yard.

• I am learning and problem-solving.

• I am practicing hope as I wait for more passion fruit to fruit into delicious sweet chin drenching flesh!

• I got to be creative and practice functional landscape design as well as photographic story telling by deciding what and how to film something.

Can you think of other things I might be missing?

So yeah, I’m riding high. Even two hours later, as I recount this. I can’t wait to show my fiancée. I can’t wait to check in on them and water them and tend to the support system I began with bamboo and twine today that was missing and not possible in their earlier position and set-up. I can’t wait to let the dogs sprint out there to delight in movement and relieve themselves.

Questions for Contemplation:

• When is the last time you got your hands dirty from the earth?

• What is something you would love to grow at home?

• How can you structure your days to attune better to this season?

• What’s something that you can do to live a little more integrated today?

May you always see the blessing, beloveds.

-esb

P.S. - Did you know you can listen online with an AI voice reading to you? Look for the link to “Listen Online” at the top of the emails and “Sarah” will read it for you!

P.P.S. - Thanks for being here. I’d love to hear how you’re doing!