The Superheroes in Green!

Ok..so now it is winter!  The seasons seem to not be able to make up their minds who should be here!  We have had rather warm and rainy weather for quite some time but today...brrr!  Old Man Winter must be having the best time giggling at all of us scurrying around trying to find our jackets and blankets again!  It probably is not as cold I think it is...but after days in the seventies and nights lingering in the high sixties...it feels like the Ice Age has hit!  This cold is not good!  Not that I mind a good freeze...during winter..but since all that warm weather, my fruit trees have decided to set blossoms.  Mark and I were meandering about the yard when we came upon the small citrus grove.  For the past few years, we have not had much luck with the lemons and limes as these trees froze to the ground one winter.  I was ready to pull the "dead" trees from the ground and start over but Michael insisted that we "give them a little time".  I listened.  Now three years later, the trees are back!  They have grown to a good eight feet or so and are fully branched again!  Mark and I were talking about how we needed to do a bit of trimming on them when he noticed the buds.

Yep, the hardy lemons and limes have made a comeback!  I could not believe how many buds and blossoms are covering the limbs of the new growth.  If this cold spell does not hurt them, we should have a bumper crop come this next fall!  For the past few years, we have had more grapefruit, satsumas and kumquats than we could use.  I still have about three bushels of grapefruit to pick from the trees!  Next year, however, if all goes well, we should be adding the lemons and limes to the crop!  This does excite me a bit since I will now have a whole new lineup of marmalades to line the shelves!  Can you just imagine...lime marmalade????  Wow!!

As an added note, we all know that Vitamin C is really good for preventing colds but do you know that limes do more than just that?  Eating limes can also help with the pain of arthritis!  This really excited me as I have trouble with my hands due to arthritis.  This is not a good thing for an artist!  Some days, the pain in my hands is so bad that I can hardly hold my paintbrush.  I have been using ginger root with some positive results but perhaps if I add fresh lime to my daily diet, the pain will ease even more!  Limes have also shown promise in helping with diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers and arteriosclerosis!  Yep...grow little limes..grow!  You are Superheroes in green and may be saving the world some day!