The Tale Of Limey The Lime

When we first moved here in December 2013 we had an orange tree and a lime bush, both recently planted. The lime was about knee high, and every once in a while he'd produce a sweet little flower that would disappear into the ether. I began wondering whether the "cloven ones" were eating the flowers. A few years back mrguy put chicken wire around the lime bush and it started thriving. Then mr yuki pruned it and it started looking like a tree. It is now 7 feet high. Last year we had a bumper crop of flowers, but the wind knocked them all off. Except for one. We named him Limey.

It's never good when you're down to one of something and you name it and you go visit it on the weekends to see how it's doing. I would tell myself how much I'm actually enjoying even having lime leaf to add to recipes. That can be good enough if Limey doesn't make it, right? But Limey endured.

Normal people would be embarrassed to admit how many photos of a single, growing lime they have on their phone. But he was like our citrus child. And two weeks ago he grew up and graduated from the tree.

Here he is, at harvest. Notice that he's a little on the yellow side. We believe that he is a Bearrs Lime. That's kinda normal.

Here he is after being released from the only home he has ever known:

Here he is on the inside. Seedless:

And here he is in his fullest expression, in a Hendricks gin and tonic. His skin was so oily and fragrant!

This year there will be more limes, because the tree has finally decided to bear fruit on the regular. Here is some of the upcoming crop:

But there will only be one Limey.