Palm Trees

Since I was a little kid, I've always liked palm trees. I once had dreams of becoming an archaeologist or perhaps a paleontologist (all kids love dinosaurs). Lots of palm trees in the desert and of course the dinosaurs were always depicted among palms. We also only lived about a six hour drive away from Florida's redneck Riviera, so I got to see plenty of palm trees in those days. Like a lot of kids my age, my father served in WWII. In his case, he was with the Marines at Guam and Iwo Jima. Lots of palm trees on South Pacific islands. Nevertheless, I never really expected to live near palm trees. As fate would have it, seventeen years ago I moved to Northern California from my native Georgia. Guess what? Palm trees galore. Most commonly found here are Mexican fan palms which can grow up to one hundred feet tall. I've actually planted four of them in the yard and one of them is already about thirty feet tall. I've had better luck with the palm trees than I've had with my second favorite tree which is the Italian Cypress. I like to call them my "EYE"-talian trees. The two I have left are still alive but they have not thrived. Lots of cypress trees around Northern California too. Lots of skunks and mosquitoes in Northern California too, which is something I never expected. Life is full of the unexpected though, isn't it?