It was Sunday. I spent a nice sized chunk of the day hanging out with the older two of Dani’s dogs (BTW – I still think “Dani & the Dogs” is a great name for a band). She and Mako were off doing something and the other two were feeling sad; being left behind and all. After all, what dog doesn’t want to head out to the wilds?
Anyway – there is a great prickly pear in front of their house and some of the fruit was ripe enough to pick. For those of you who are from desert areas, you already know what is coming.
This is a prickly pear fruit. See all those little bumps? They come loaded with fine, hair-sized little spikes. The “prickles” in prickly pear. The plant has larger ones on the various “leaves.” It is a great defense mechanism. Those suckers hurt. The little ones can imbed just deep enough that they don’t brush off. The larger ones can penetrate clothing.
This is not a fruit that you hold by the outside to eat.
You cut it, you peel it, then you eat the sweet insides and ignore the seeds…
while spending the next several days picking nasty little prickles out of your fingers because you were stupid enough to harvest two without gloves…
