Peppers, Park, Birds

Most of you know that I love spicy foods so, naturally I try to grow hot peppers in my garden.  So far I have had mixed results: a few jalapeno and cherry peppers in the past that didn't produce much.  The garden is just a few blocks away from the ocean so gets cold winds and is always cooler than the rest of town.  Not the best pepper growing conditions.  But last year I got my hands on a chocolate habañero plant and tried again.  I discovered this strain of habañero a few years ago and it is now my favourite pepper.  "Chocolate" refers to the colour, not the flavour.  They taste like habañeros but more so, that characteristic fruity flavour..... and lots of heat.  And they're brown, hence the "chocolate". 

In any case, I put that plant in my garden last year and it did very well....... sort of.  Lots of blossoms and good leaf growth.  But no fruit.  It didn't seem to be getting pollinated.  Having learned that pepper plants are perennials, I whacked it down to it's central stem, dug it up and brought it home for the winter.  There, in my north facing apartment, that little plant has been flourishing ever since.  Now there are 10 fruit on it.  Well, actually there are only 8 peppers on it now since I harvested two.  Very tasty and very hot.

So I got some friends for it: another chocolate habañero and two red habañeros.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=uzd9n8yzEYM&feature=emb_logo

Meanwhile, on the roof next door:

A constant flow of herons passes by my windows every year at this time on their way to and to and from their rookery to their fishing grounds.
 

They bring back their catch and regurgitate it for their young.  There's constant chatter and squawking up in the treetops.  

 There is some feeding action here that starts at around 1:50.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JfC9btG1zo&feature=emb_logo 

In Beacon Hill Park

 I'll be chronicling the development of the peppers so stay tuned...............