Odd Things Abound

There is definitely no shortage of strange things here, from food packaging to plants and animals.  I’m always amused when I go into a grocery store how everything seems to be packaged in bags or paper cartons.  For example, the isle where the cleaning products are tend to be mostly squishy plastic bags of disinfectant or bleach.  I suppose it’s a good way to cut down on having to buy large plastic bottles of the stuff every time you need it.  Instead, you just refill the original container with what’s inside the bags.

It’s no secret that I have an issue with milk as it is.  I drink whole milk in the states and here, I’ve only been able to find something with a percent sign next to it which makes me cringe.  I have never eaten cereal here.  Ever.  But I did find whole milk (at least I’m pretty sure it is) at Maxi Pali so I bought two.  The other strange thing is that you’ll find it on a shelf unrefrigerated.  I mean you can also find some in the refrigerated section, but most of it is just sitting on the shelf.  That took a while to get used to.  Same with orange juice.  I saw something funny by the eggs (which are also not refrigerated here) and that was a plastic bag with about 5 or 6 eggs in them.  Good luck getting those home!

The other strange thing is that I bought a big package of oreos one time and when I opened it, there were a bunch of individual 4 packs inside of it!?  I can only assume it’s meant to keep things fresh although even those were stale somehow.  I think I just got unlucky because I’ve had others that were fine.  So when I bought the Ritz crackers shown above, that was no different either.  So much for being ‘green’ with how they package things.  Seems like more waste than necessary.    I’ve never seen mayo in a jar here…that comes in a bag too.  Come to think of it, jars of things aren’t too popular here.  Heck even my cheap wine comes in a paper carton!  There are some cereals in boxes but a lot of those are in plastic bags like those Frosted Flakes above.

Speaking of eggs, I went into town the other day and stopped in at a nursery and found this crazy easter egg plant.

The ornamental eggs look and feel just like chicken eggs and turn different colors!  I had to have it and it only cost $6.00.  I’ll try to propagate the seeds in the ground somewhere and see what happens.  Seeds in eggs!?!  Huh??  Weirdness.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the pink bananas as well.  I noticed those too and did a search on them to find that they are edible but the seeds are large.  The one I picked was not ripe yet but I hope to find out more about them soon.

I also have been noticing a huge stalk in the yard and I wanted to chop it down but I haven’t because I felt that it wasn’t a weed.  After thinking on it for a few days, I realized it might be sugar cane.

A quick google search confirmed it, with the tell tale white stripe down the center of the leaves and the bamboo looking stalk.  Very cool!  Looking closer there are a few more near it.  I read that you can make skewers for meat or seafood from them which would be neat to do.

I’ve also noticed that sometimes I can’t tell what is a weed and what is a flower so I often err on the side of caution and don’t pull things out unless I know for sure it’s a weed, like this beautiful red dandelion.  The cute little yellow flowers in the yard can stay put because they aren’t bothering anyone.

I was stopped under one of the guava trees yesterday when I noticed this beautiful butterfly.  It actually let me get pretty close to it so I could take its picture.

Here’s a strange insect trying to blend in on a leaf:

Oh, that reminds me…the hummingbird babies have fled the nest.  I was outside when I noticed the mama in an unusual spot and when I approached it after she left, I saw this:

The baby blended in pretty well with the leaves and the flowers.  Amazing.  The other baby was in the brush closer to the nest.  Here’s another look at the nest too: