Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Moving A Small Palm Tree While Wearing A GoPro Camera On Your Head



I did get this baby planted closer to the house, in a sunnier spot. Hopefully he will thrive in a better location.

Pindo Palms first caught my eye about 15 years ago, when I noticed kids outside of my classroom throwing chunks of brick.


My first thought was, "The revolution has begun! Must hide!"


Of course, this was pre-Twitter, pre-Facebook, and pre-Cellphone, so I was wrong about that.

It wasn't a popular uprising.

It turns out the kids tossing bricks were just trying to knock down the ripening orange fruit of the pindo palm that stood outside my class.
Every time a brick struck the fruit bearing frond above, the kids would scramble for the dropping fruits, while avoiding the descending brick.


It was a case of gravity providing both sustenance and an adrenaline rush.

After the kids had their fill, I went out and tossed the brick chunk myself to gather a few fruits.
They tasted like loquats to me and as I chewed, I thought about the primeval scene I had just witnessed ... and then participated in.

... Primates tossing rocks at fruit bearing trees to gain food.

How many millions of years had scenes like that played out ... and here I was, a primate in Wrangler jeans and a Polo shirt recreating what might have been man's first use of a tool.

Fascinating.


I kept the seeds from those fruits and planted them at home, where they sprouted and grew into pretty nice palms. They are not native, but are cold hardy like our native sabal palms, so Pindos are a good choice for Nawth Florida.

Just be sure that where you plant yours is where you mean for it to stay, so you don't wind up wrestling one like I did.

14 comments:

Carol said...

Now I have to go get a Pindo Palm...

Dani said...

I wanna see how goofy you look with the GoPro mounted on your head.

Caroline said...

Intriguing to see the soil you are digging in compared to what comes up on a shovel in the Black Hills. It looks much easier digging.

Karl said...

Good evening FC,

Neat video, which model of GoPro are you using? Was it uncomfortable to wear?

Mark said...

I should have worn a camera on my head last weekend. A couple of years ago we planted a hibiscus next to our house and said, "Good luck, house plant," and walked away. A year later it was trying to pry the roof off the house. So I transplanted it last weekend. It was very big and so heavy I had to drag it with our Mule (the 4-wheel, gasoline variety). It knocked me over at least once before I got it back into the ground. Mean sucker.

R.Powers said...

Carol,
They are a pretty palm. The foliage is a paler, seafoam color.


Dani,
Pretty goofy and there is a high probablility that such a photo will never make it to PF!
But, damn, this camera is fun.

Caroline,
We call it sand.
Soil is really giving credit where credit is not due.


Karl,
The GoPro Naked. I ordered the head strap separately.
It is surprisingly comfortable!


Mark,
Perhaps it misunderstood you when you said, "Good luck house plant."
May have heard, "Get the house, plant!"
Way to show it who is the boss though.

roger said...

i'm tired just watching you wrestle a palm.

how cold hardy are they?

SophieMae said...

I fully expected, as you were pulling really hard and the roots were hanging on for dear life, to see the sky as you hurtled backwards when they let go. Glad it didn't happen.... well, sort of; it would've been pretty amusing. 8-} I also had the same thought as Dani. I'm sure you'd have no problem finding a willing shooter.

R.Powers said...

roger,
I don't know what their minimum exposure is, but mine made it through last winter here where we had record lows day after day.

Sophie,
I'm sure it will happen at some point!

Julie Zickefoose said...

This makes me want to go build a fire and char some flesh. Unk!

amarkonmywall said...

It is a very manly man video, complete with primate grunts. Here's the question: HOW cold hardy, if you catch my drift?

amarkonmywall said...

Oh. Now is see Roger asked as well and got a vague sort of answer...

Miz S said...

My first thought was, "The revolution has begun! Must hide!"

Ha! You made me laugh.

I enjoyed the video, even though I was a little afraid you were going to give yourself a hernia.

R.Powers said...

Julie,
I charred some rye toast this morning... does that count?

Vicki, Vicki, Vicki,
Go HERE for some neat info at the coolest nursery around.

http://www.tytyga.com/product/Pindo+Palm+Tree