PINK GRAPEFRUIT

Blog posts always sound better in my head. At that stage, I believe blog posts are just called thoughts. Thoughts don’t need to be organized or even interesting. I can follow them wherever they go – or not. Easy. Entertaining. 

I always say that at least half of writing is staring out the window. Or at the sky or sea, trees, or insects. That’s the easy half. The harder part is writing down the great ideas or storylines that come to mind during the daydreaming. Even though they’re coherent words when they’re in my head, sometimes they get jammed between my brain and my fingers, then get twisted around and come out like a strand of saucy spaghetti that’s been dropped on the floor: haphazard and needing a good clean.

Today’s pre-blog post thoughts were about grapefruit trees. They were inspired by the moments I spent picking the first ripe grapefruits I’ve picked this season. They were thoughts about tart pink juice and the time I fertilized the citrus trees in my grandparents’ yard in Florida while my mom read To Kill a Mockingbird aloud to me. They were thoughts about eating in season not because of choosing the in season groceries from the store instead of the out of season ones, but eating in season because the food was right there, on a tree just steps from my door.

I had these thoughts and more as I walked home from the grapefruit tree, my bag filled with fresh fruit. I walked without music in my ear. Just these thoughts. They were so nice, I thought I’d share them. But when I sat down at my computer – still outside because the weather is so lovely – they flew away. I don’t know where they went. If they came to you by some non-electronic means today, I hope you enjoyed them. And if not, I invite you to enjoy the picture that I took this morning, and think your own beautiful thoughts.