2004-04-06-0038Z

Here I am back in the Matrix enjoying a Starbucks espresso brownie with one of their shitty coffees. Really the only one I like is Guatemala Antigua, the unbitterest coffee in the world. Pure flavor, no bite. But they only serve it when the waxing crescent moon is a pastel shade of lavender.

Snapped a few pics on the way here. Last time through I picked a couple of these fruits, which roughly resemble peaches, and took them to my wife's house, so she could ask the construction workers at the house if they knew what they were. The first one she asked took it, popped it in his mouth, and gulped it down. So I didn't find out what it is but found out, more importantly, that it is edible. So I tried a largish one on the way up Beyer Boulevard in San Ysidro. It even tastes something like a peach, but a big difference is the seeds; it has more than one, usually 3, and not enclosed in a shell like a peach pit. But the size of all of them summed together is, proportional to the size of the fruit, about the same as the pit of a peach is to its fruit.

I also tasted some tiny peaches growing in a residential neighborhood in Las Vegas a couple of years ago or so. But they were real peaches, just in miniature; these are obviously a different subspecies or even species altogether, but they have some similarities: fuzz, color, and flavor.

Walking further North, I saw (for the second time) this glorious carpet of some succulent, which appears to be a miniature of the delosperma shown on the right. Delospermae are a succulent similar to the carpobrotus I edibility- tested some time ago, but instead of the triangular cross-section of C. Edulis et. al., the fleshy leaves of the Delosperma have a rougly elliptical cross-section. Many of these have very bright, almost fluorescent-appearing, colors, like the purple carpet of tiny succulents, but this Delosperma's flower is a rather bland shade of yellow. Note that I have not tested this for edibility.

Why do I keep harping on succulents? I just think they would make such an improvement over grass lawns. Think of the benefits: they're edible. They act as a firestop. They don't need cutting, and only occasional trimming; and you can put the trimmings in your salads! They prevent erosion on slopes. They grow in areas where grass cannot survive, as they can hold moisture for weeks or even months at a time; basically, you water them for the first two weeks after you plant the cuttings (yes, they propagate easily from cuttings; you just stick part of the stem in the dirt, that's it!), and you never need worry about them again unless you have an exceptionally prolonged drought. They crowd out other species and form contiguous carpets of green and, when flowering, bright colors to please the eye. The only drawback I can see is that sheep may not be willing to eat them. But if you don't have sheep in your yard that shouldn't be too much of a concern. Having been a night worker/day sleeper for many years, anything which can obviate the annoying buzz of a lawnmower at 8AM on a Saturday morning is something I want to market. That reminds me, I want to start selling these succulents on my website and on eBay. Remind me sometime, will you?

You remember the American Tourister flight bag I told you had had it back in Deming? Well, it's still rolling! Every now and then I spray the wheels with WD-40, and that seems to keep it happy. I love quality products, I wish more companies loved making them.

I had more ideas of things I keep meaning to blog on the way here, but as usual, I've forgotten them. I'll probably remember as soon as I get rolling again.

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