seeing orange

With the blustery weather we've been experiencing, I've been daydreaming of warmer climates and travel. Standing at my dining room window, I see the snow, once again, covering the sidewalks that will need to be painstakingly, cleared away, one shovel scoop at a time. As I step back, my eyes stop upon all the oranges in the fruit bowl and the half-eaten slices, left behind by my children, on their plates.

I'm not a big fruit eater. I have to make an effort to remember to do so but I get reminders from my eldest, who always requests an apple or banana almost everyday. When I was pregnant with her, I had huge cravings for oranges. I remember going to go buy large bags of them and I would easily eat 3-4 a day. It was then, during a citrus gorging session, I realized I have never seen an actual orange growing on a tree.

I really don't know how I haven't. We've been to numerous tropical places. I remember taking pictures of papayas and pineapples growing on shrubs. Looking up to see coconuts and bananas hanging from trees. I have eaten plums and peaches, right off the tree, but oranges, well, it has somehow evaded me. I was close once, certain I could smell the citrus in the air but it was wishful thinking.  Disappointment, as a port of call, during a cruise, to the Florida Keys didn't allow for enough time to venture to an orange farm.

So, instead I grab my camera and snap a few shots of my bright, cheery-looking oranges. Once again, daydreaming, maybe next year I'll get away, far away from this snow, to a place where I can pluck an orange right off it's branch. Somewhere warm, to make me forget of the snow and wind that is mocking me by creating a huge drift, right upon that very shovel that will need to be put to work, for the umpteenth time this season.