Good morning friends, how was your weekend?? Mine was fairly relaxed with no diving or biking, just a bit of trail work and going to a new bigger and better sea glass location that we just found. I spent most of the day yesterday cleaning up photos on the computer and taking care of Aimee who came home early from work with a real sore back and am taking her to the doctor this morning.

Here is another Curacao vegetation photo for my green thumbs out there this morning. This is a giant tree of Sea Grapes that we have next to the Sub Station and it is currently filled with edible fruit. The Sea Grape plant yields grapes, but it is certainly not a vine like many of you have in the States. This plant can grow to the surprising height of 30 to 50 feet tall, but ordinarily most are found to be in the 12 to 13 foot tall range. Originally the Sea Grape, Coccoloba uvifera was a native of the Caribbean, but now can even be found in Argentina, and much of Central and Southern Florida even on the Gulf side! It has been known to grow wild on some sandy beaches, but has been often used on the ocean side of Florida as a windbreak or to add a tropical setting by landscapers for large condominiums or hotels on beach side. The sea grape itself is extremely hardy, and since it is a tropical plant, it grows wild in beach strands, coastal grasslands, coastal scrubs, and coastal hammocks. The plant somehow acclimates itself to its locations. For instance if found growing on the beach on a sand dune, it will remain basically a shrub, whose thick foliage will rarely show a distinct trunk to hold it up, as it must resist sand and salt spray that is almost constantly found on a beach. This one here is a giant tree with a nice thick trunk but because of the weight of all those grapes a few of the arms broke the other day including this one. After fertilization the grapes appear, at first green but then ripen to a beautiful bluish-purple color and are wonderful to eat, although they do have a slightly acidic taste. I often see the locals here picking them, they call this plant the; Dreifi di laman, or Mata di Druif, yeah say that 10 times real fast!