Prickly Pear

A particularly uneventful day. The weather was beautiful.

Here's part of the prickly pear (Optunia) that grows up the north gable end of the house. In fact, it has to be regularly pruned as it grows taller than the house; it's obviously very happy there, in its sunny position against the black painted weatherboards, which absorb the heat. We have quite a lot of prickly pear growing in our garden in Bahrain, as well. We brought some cuttings from the previous house where we had lived and it 'went mad'. The only downside to this was that Gypsy would sometimes brush against it and then, when stroking her, the tiny little hair-like spines would transfer themselves from her coat and stick into your hand. The Bahrain prickly pear cacti have yellow flowers; this one's blooms are orange.

Those little spines make eating the fruit tricky; it is edible, but it must be peeled carefully to remove the glochids. If the outer layer is not properly removed, glochids can be ingested, causing the spines to stick in one's throat, lips, and tongue. Native Americans, like the Tequesta, would roll the fruit around in grit to "sand" off the glochids. You can also burn them off in a campfire. Having said that, I have to admit that I have never attempted to eat the fruit. Here's something I did not know (from Wikipedia):

'The coat of arms of Mexico depicts a Mexican golden eagle, perched upon an Opuntia cactus, holding a rattlesnake. According to the official history of Mexico, the coat of arms is inspired by an Aztec legend regarding the founding of Tenochtitlan. The cactus (O. ficus-indica; Nahuatl: tenochtli), full of fruits, is the symbol for the island of Tenochtitlan.'

And so the mysterious Mexican theme to life at the moment continues. Last night, before the movie, Immy and I went to a new Mexican Taquería in town. I have to say that it was very new and sparkly but lacked authentic appeal. There was too much white in the decor; the food was served in boxes and we were practically the only guests - there was another couple, sitting in the window seat, the solemn man sporting a provided sombrero. The food was OK, but I'm not sure we'll be hurrying back. When we got home, I sat down with Immy's recently-aqcuired art book about el Día de los Muertos/the Day of the Dead.