8 April 2024
Today is a good day. You might even say an excellent day. My energy level is high, my gait is better when walking and I did 1.3 miles today in some beautiful weather. My neuropathy hasn’t changed but you can’t have everything.
Even more impressive to me is I got back into the pool for the first time since last September. I didn’t manage my full set of 20 minutes but I did make it half way. The pool temperature was 84°F which is perfect for me so the pool heater is doing its job. It’s still a little chilly to take an outdoor shower but hopefully that’ll change soon. Strange to be thinking hot weather is good.
It’s been windy for the past few weeks and my gumbo limbo is shedding leaves faster than a cat sheds fur. That means I need to skim leaves off the pool, clean out the skimmer and then the filter just about every day. The weather is so nice I don’t really mind as long as I have the energy.
While on the walk this morning, I passed a royal poinciana tree. It wasn’t in bloom. It’ll be middle of May or early June before these show off their color.
Here’s what the tree looks like in bloom.
Here’s what the same tree looks like when in fruit.
Here’s what the seed pod looks like.
The tree is a member of the bean family (Leguminosae or Fabaceae) and therefore the fruit is similar to a butter bean or lima bean pod. In this case, the pod doesn’t split along suture lines. The seed coat is so hard that to get them to germinate in a laboratory setting, you have to file away a part of the seed coat so that water can enter the seed and start the germination process. These are some really tough seeds.
I’m going to take it easy for the rest of the day and curl up in bed with a book, nap, and laze around. Tomorrow is a massage at 5 Points Massage.
Stay tuned!