How is it possible that January is almost over? I haven’t even failed at my resolutions yet. Something must be wrong. Maybe it is the 80 degree January weather. I know I live in San Diego and all, but really?!? The trees in my front yard are so confused that they are blooming wildly, which doesn’t normally happen until March. The upside is that the petals on the flowers are white and keep falling serenely to the ground when the wind picks up. The other day my 3 year old asked if we could go out and play in the “snow” and um…I haven’t corrected her. Who am I to deprive a child of winter’s wonders? (Even if they are southern California style…)

Anyhow, last Thursday when I visited the citrus collection at UC Riverside, it was 85 degrees. It was a gorgeous day and full of delights, but it was hot. Really hot. Stupidly, I left a half eaten banana in my car during the day and was then aromatically punished for this laziness the entire drive home. I wish I could say I learned my lesson, but I’m sure I didn’t.

I have so much to tell you about the visit and I really do want to do it justice, but on a personal level I have had a very difficult week and I am having trouble bringing the words in to focus. So for now, I will pause and leave you with this mystery. The picture above is the one citrus I saw that day that I had never seen nor even heard of prior. Anyone know what it is?

Here are some clues:

• The outside is hard. REALLY hard. I had to literally stomp on it to break it open. Then we used a knife to pry it apart.
• The inside is extraordinarily sticky. Almost as sticky as the jack fruit latex, though it has a more gelatinous texture.

Any guesses? I’ll put the answer in the comments later this week.