A Bag of Limes

You're never too old to be a kid, discovering new things with wonder. At age 44 my son in California has discovered that limes grow on trees. Real limes that you can harvest to squeeze juice or slice up for mojitos.

I was taken by his infectious enthusiasm. He is so proud of his lime crop that he had shopping bags made up imprinted with the name of his "farm" that he hands out to anyone who comes to visit. I went home with a bag of limes.

He's no farmer, not a gardener, and his single lime tree (and a lemon tree too) was planted in his suburban back yard before he bought the house. When he discovered they grew fruit, he was thrilled.

He grew up in a city with sidewalks and tiny back yards, believing fruits came from the store, farms were petting zoos and what grew in the ground was lawn turf that he had to mow. 

When he got his own home he hired out the lawn mowing and shrub maintenance and took no interest in any plants other than keeping a tidy yard. Then he discovered his lime and lemon trees bore fruit and he was beyond excited.

This is fun for me to watch. I didn't come to gardening until after I retired, so when my kids grew up I had never exposed them to plants or the wonders of what grows in the earth.

I don't think he'll expand much into gardening, despite so proudly advertising his lime production on shopping bags, but you never know. This could be the start of a new hobby or interest for him as he ages out of contact sports.

I'm going to go make green chile stew now and I need limes for that. 

I have some.