20. The Fruitful Life, Part III: Fluffy in the Garden of Eden

While not the most religious rabbit, Fluffy does enjoy the occasional Genesic reference. After overindulging in the fruits of her new tropical environment, Fluffy too had started to feel a bit bare (she had, at this point, lost much of her thick coat that the Alaskan temperatures had endowed to her).

Thankfully, she located a lone fig tree (Ficus sp.) that, although fruitless, had recently sprouted a petite leaf perfect for Fluffy's purpose of modesty.

19. The Fruitful Life Part II: A Flavor Explosion, Literally

Still more trees to explore! Fluffy's journey through the informal backyard orchard had not yet ended.

Admiring the substantial, oppositely oriented leaves of a mysterious tree, she leapt into its branches and was immediately alarmed to find a spiky creature awaiting her arrival. It appeared to be a green, airborne porcupine fish. Upon closer examination she determined that it was instead the tree's fruit.


She later confirmed it to be a soursop (Annona muricata), or guanábana in the Spanish speaking countries of its tropical American origin. However, it wasn't until a couple weeks later that Fluffy really learned about the wonders of this fruit. Weighing in at 3 pounds or so, the fruit had recently fallen to the ground and burst its skin upon impact, causing rivers of juice to flow along the walkway below. Inside the skin was a thick, creamy pulp. Shooing little black ants aside, Fluffy dove in and loved what she found! Both overwhelmingly sweet and tart, it tasted like a combination of every other fruit Fluffy could ever remember having eaten. Pineapple, banana, apple, mango, guava -- the flavors were all present under the supple leathery spikes of it's exterior. She slurped through its custardy insides, avoiding the many large shiny black seeds. She would have to keep an eye on the other fruits in this tree. Surely a friend could help her harvest the next before it too would fall to the ground in a succulent and fibrous explosion.

18. The Fruitful Life Part I: Fruits of the Backyard

Fluffy had developed quite a taste for berries while in Alaska. Many of these colder climate fruits were low-growing and perfect for a small rabbit to harvest. Hawaii, on the other hand, created some new challenges for this lagomorph. Bananas, papayas, grapefruits...so delicious and yet so far out of reach.

The array of fruits was overwhelming as well. Maui's multiple climate zones meant that nearly anything but the berries of the briskest tundra could be grown somewhere on the island. Fluffy found it fitting to do some exploring...and work on her climbing skills.



Grapefruit, Citrus paradisi

Fluffy was amazed that a seemingly delicate tree could support so many of these massive fruits, which, for lack of a better metaphor, appeared like glowing bowling balls suspended midair. She always wondered why these huge fruits would be compared to tiny grapes, but seeing these fruits grow in clusters, dangling low from the tree's branches, gave her new insight to the matter.






Surinam Cherry, Eugenia uniflora

A perfect size for Fluffy, and a flavor to match her ebullient personality. These vibrant, pleated fruits adorn their shrubby tree like little rose blossoms, yellow and red amidst lush foliage. Their taste is a cross between passion fruit and peppercorns. Fluffy could eat them all day! Unfortunately, this particular tree only had a few ripe fruits, and it seems the birds had beat her to the majority of them.





Starfruit (a.k.a. carambola), Averrhoa carambola

Juicy, refreshing, and sliced into perfect stars, Fluffy couldn't think of anything wrong with this succulent Asian fruit. But then she started to sense an odor coming through the window...the aroma of boxed wine having exploding in the cab of a hot truck. She followed her nose out to the back patio of the home she was helping to caretake and found hundreds of starfruits rotting on the ground, fermenting while being savored by flies of all sizes. She would have to be sure to harvest the remaining fruit before it too met this depressing fate.