A Tough Nut To Crack

Linda and I are finishing up our stay here in Fort Myers, Florida. We got some rain the last two days. We went with our friends Vickie and Suzanne to have lunch at Mel's Diner and then to try and catch a glimpse of the burrowing owls. Lunch was great but when we drove to the neighborhoods where the owls have staked out areas in the fields, we couldn't find a single owl. These owls are on the protected list and their areas are marked by four white stakes around their underground dens. There are perches inside each area and as the girls explained, usually this is where you'll see the owls sitting. No such luck. Linda and I drove by there today too and didn't see any.

On Saturday we went to the fleamarket to stock up on veggies. On Tuesday we're starting the Whole 30 plan, which we learned about from my daughter Becky. It basically purges your system of all chemicals, sugar, processed foods for a period of 30 days. You eat items that would look like what our great grandparents ate....foods without additives. Veggies are a big part of the plan. We got lots of great stuff at the fleamarket, including a coconut. I asked the woman attendant what she knew about them and she said "not much". She said to get a green one (the brown ones are for planting). So for $1 we got a large coconut and opening it, was on my 'to do" list this morning while I watched my political shows. I figured I might as well crack a nut while I watched a bunch on TV.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I charged up my cordless drill and sanitized my big drill bit. I drilled a couple of holes in the end of the coconut so I could drain the milk out of it (when the juice is first taken out, it's clear. It thickens and clouds up as it ages) Then I took my large chef's knife and tried to cut into it. That wasn't very successful so I went after it with the drill again. I drilled a number of holes the length of it and then took my knife and "connected the dots". I flipped the coconut over and put a couple more holes in it. I took my wedge shaped tire iron and drove it into the holes and finally got the whole thing opened up. Whew ! It was dang tough work. I couldn't believe how small the actual coconut was inside. The grassy covering is excellent protection for the internal shell. Since the drill had gone through the brown shell and into the meat, it got flecks of the shell in there. I scooped all of the coconut flesh out and put it in the colander and washed it in the sink. I've got three snack bags full of coconut to snack on (coconut milk and coconut pieces are in our plan). I'm glad we only paid a dollar for it cause it took a heck of a lot of labor and experimenting with to get it open. Hope your Sunday morning was more productive than mine was.

As we exit the resort, we sometimes get a glimpse of the wild pigs playing in the ditch out near the highway. Yesterday when we went out, there wasn't just one but two adults and four baby piggies. I know they are a huge nuisance and people around here hate them but the babies sure were cute. Here's a picture I took with my phone. Here piggy piggy....

Tomorrow is New Year's eve....we have a get together here at the resort to go to and then we pull out Tuesday morning and head to Marathon till the 6th. Looking forward to exploring the area down around Miami and the Keys. Hope everyone has a safe and wonderful New year's eve.Wishing you all a healthy and prosperous 2013 !