Icarus and the birds, pawpaw

[asakiyume]

I wrote a microfiction about Icarus the other day:

Sent out to gather feathers for his father's project, Icarus only picked up ones that birds had shed--he never harmed a single bird. And he learned the birds the feathers came from: osprey, gull, raven, jay, starling.

Later, when he flew too close to the sun and the wax melted, when the feathers were coming out one by one, when he was falling, the birds remembered his careful ways and came to rescue him, in flocks and bands and murmurations.

I also tried a pawpaw the other day, following fast on the heels of sovay. It was delicious! It reminded me a little of an Amazonian fruit I had, caímo-the same texture, the same big seeds. But the pawpaw's flavor and scent was all its own. Once upon a time I wanted to grow a pawpaw, but gave up the idea because my yard is small and already has as many trees as I wanted in it. But now I'm rethinking that. I've saved the seeds. The internet tells me they need to chill out in the fridge for 80–120 days, so I have washed them, wrapped them in a wet paper towel, placed them in a plastic baggie, and put them in the fridge. The last time I tried something like this was in 2006, when I tried growing Khazak apples. I ended up with two viable plants that made it past the one-year mark, but then something ate them. Ah, life.

Let's see how I go with pawpaws.

Comments

[seaglassgarden]

oh!! :') i like ur icarus story

[asakiyume]

I'm so glad! Thank you.

[pameladean]

"... but then something ate them." The end of all too many gardening stories. Best of luck with the pawpaws.

P.

[asakiyume]

Nature's fallback ending to stories is very, uh... predictable. Thank you! First step is getting them to germinate.

[troisoiseaux]

I wrote a microfiction about Icarus the other day

I love this!

[asakiyume]

Hurray! I'm so happy to hear it!

[sovay]

I wrote a microfiction about Icarus the other day

It's great. You should send it to a poetry magazine.

I also tried a pawpaw the other day, following fast on the heels of sovay. It was delicious!

I'm so glad! I hope your pawpaws grow.

[asakiyume]

The pawpaw deity must have seen me commenting wistfully on your post.

Thank you both for the good wishes for the pawpaw seeds and for the vote of confidence in the microstory!

[kore]

That is lovely.

[asakiyume]

💛💛💛
Thank you

[wayfaringwordhack]

Now that is an Icarus story I can fall in love with. Catch me, too, sweet feathered friends.

I have toyed with the idea of trying to grow a pawpaw here, but they seem rather finicky to get started, leaving me leery of the enterprise.

[asakiyume]

Speaking of "here," please send me news on whether there's been any change in you guys's travel plans. Is J already ...? (etc.)

[wayfaringwordhack]

The kids and I are at home in France until "further notice," our tickets for this weekend a) not available because Air France has cancelled all flights until Oct 26 at the earliest, and b) because we have no intention of returning until things calm down. Sadly, J already flew back from the States to Beirut on Saturday. His Turkish Airline ticket got him to Istanbul, and MEA the only airline flying in and out of Beirut right now, took him the last leg. We are just hanging on now, making plans to be home for winter (plans including sourcing some firewood!)

[asakiyume]

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 May he be safe.

[sartorias]

I love that story, so complete and image-rich and emotionally shifting, and all in under 100 words. Woo!

[asakiyume]

It really means a lot to me that you found it so--thank you so much for telling me 💛

[squirrelitude]

I managed to get a bunch of pawpaws when visiting my parents in Virginia, and brought back many seeds. If you know other people in the area who want some, I can hook them up. :-) They *are* from Virginia, so maybe not as cold-adapted as from local trees... but the climate in central VA is actually only 0.5-1 USDA hardiness zones off from here.

[asakiyume]

Cool, okay, thank you!

I've got four seeds stored up in the fridge, so hopefully I'm good, but if the friend who gave me the pawpaw didn't save any seeds and wants to try growing one, I'll let him know.

[squirrelitude]

Oh, and one thing to know about pawpaws... they like to take their time, and don't gamble on any one year being a good one to sprout in. If you plant a bunch of seeds, they might each come up in the first year, or the second, or the third, or the fourth... not taking any chances. :-)

[asakiyume]

So you mean if I plant them all at once, some might come up in the first year, but some might not germinate until the second year? In other words, if a seed doesn't germinate in one year, it might later?

[squirrelitude]

Exactly, yeah!

[asakiyume]

Whoa, so I don't need to give up on them if they don't germinate--excellent!

[amaebi]

What a wonderful project.

[asakiyume]

Fingers crossed! we'll see what happens.

[med_cat]

I love your microfic!

Hehe, you did mention you had wanted to try one, when I posted about pawpaws. Were you able to pick one, or did you have to purchase it? Interesting re: seeds, and best of luck growing the tree!

(I too have saved the seeds, but given my, ahem, lack of success with growing things, I was thinking to use them in a craft project)

Pity about your apple trees :/ Junior and I tried growing an apple tree...in the several years since we planted the small tree (about...20 cm in height, I'd say?), it hasn't died, but it hasn't grown either...

[asakiyume]

Yes, I thought of you when my friend gave me the pawpaw--apparently grown near here on a farm. I truly hadn't thought to grow one, but it was so tasty ....

It was too bad about the Kazakh apple trees, but I have my other one, the beautiful big one I grew from a seed, so I feel happy overall with my attempts at growing apple trees. Some things work out, others don't! Is the tree you planted perhaps a dwarf variety? That would perhaps explain its not growing much.

[med_cat]

That's great :))

Very true. No, I don't think it's a dwarf variety, I think it's our soil and perhaps the location where I planted it. The lilac bushes didn't grow much either :/

My dad had a similar experience once, long ago--he planted two fir trees at Grandma's, and they remained as they were planted, two small fir bushes ;))

and look what just popped up in my Wash Post newsletter

[med_cat]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2024/10/18/pawpaw-trees-climate-change/

(let me know if you can't see the article, I'll get you a gift link if so)

Re: and look what just popped up in my Wash Post newsletter

[asakiyume]

I do need a gift link--thank you in advance!

Re: and look what just popped up in my Wash Post newsletter

[med_cat]

Here you go: https://wapo.st/3YcYmOJ

Re: and look what just popped up in my Wash Post newsletter

[asakiyume]

Thank you! That was very interesting!

Re: and look what just popped up in my Wash Post newsletter

[med_cat]

My pleasure :)