4th Anniversary

It's incredible to contemplate the passing of time. It goes on, tic by toc without any regards to human feelings. It has been exactly four years that I lost Maryse. Her memory still here, coming to visit now and then. Now I think I have a better understanding of the word "unforgettable." But... here is her Ficus religiosa, standing here 4 months shy of a full four year after being planted. It looks bare now as it does every year at this time, but it is full of life within, waiting to push out new growths in the spring. Today, the weather is very nice, but this ficus is sleeping so I just water it silently in solitude.

Monthly Progress #43

It is now November, a month shy of the 4 year mark. Time flies... The ficus does not grow by much this year but it now has numerous new buddings on many of its branches. It is not sure if new growths will push out now, or it will soon go into hibernation to wait until April of next year. I've got plenty of time to wait...

Monthly Progress # 42

We had some heavy rain a few days ago but not quite enough and this area dried up rather quickly. The ficus only put out some small new leaves to show it is still trying to grow, but very slowly. Fall has begun and time ticks on...

Monthly Progress # 41

This is how the ficus tree looks today. This year is marked with extremely slow growth. Although new leaves have returned in the early spring, no new branches have developed. Lacking the rain, this area is quite dry and weekly watering is really needed. We just have to wait and see.

Monthly Progress #40

July came and is now gone. We are in August already and here is how our ficus tree looks today. It is healthy, but the growth has been slow. Maintenance at this location is performed regularly and weeds are kept at bay. There is not much rain this year but the ficus is happy with dependable weekly watering. September is traditionally the peak of the hurricanes season so more rain may come then to promote more vigorous growth. But we are patient.

Monthly Progress #39

It is mid July... and the rain is copious this year. This photo was taken at about 11 AM under a threatening sky with possible thunderstorm and rain. But it is hot and humid, and hot and humid and hot and humid... with mosquitoes. It is no fun to keep the ground tidy and it can be seen here that this area needs a good trim. The Ficus religiosa is happy among its cycad friends.

Monthly Progress #38

It is now growing season again and the F. religiosa has pushed out new growths, slowly but steadily. This has been a wet week with thunder storms that arrive almost every afternoon. The extra water is very welcome and the surrounding vegetation is happy.. and so are the juvenile crabs.

Monthly Progress #37

As expected, the ficus tree has resumed growing activities. Many branches have emerged from hibernation. The tree now looks more furnished and very healthy. More cicad plants are being added to this area... and once a week watering will help this tree sustaining continuous growth throughout the summer months.

Progress Report 3 year anniversary

This is the ficus tree as it appears today, exactly 3 years after it was planted on April 17th, 2011. Behaving as a true deciduous tree at this location, it shed all of the leaves of last year. Now, the new growths are sprouting from many old leaf nodes, some are still only tiny green bumps trying to break out from the hardened bark. Rain is still very scarce this year. Hopefully we will not have a drought. As one says, April showers bring May flowers. That is yet to happen. Come back next month to see where the new branches will have materialized.

Monthly Progress #35

Some rain is coming to Miami, but not enough to awaken this ficus tree. It looks bare now, but it will resume growing again soon.

Monthly Progress #34

It is now February. March and April will bring showers and by that time the ficus will awake to grow again. This is a slow and long process, watching a tree grow.

Monthly Progress #33

The New Year 2014 began and the cold weather does stop the growth of this ficus although we are having a pretty mild "winter" so far. The ficus tree looks bare at this time and we have to wait until the spring to see new growth... Let's be patient and wait...