Mangomania

Our mango tree is doing something I have never seen before. The east-facing quarter of the tree (only) is producing a second crop of fruit.

The entire first go-'round ripened and fell and was gathered by us, or was eaten by the squirrel, birds and insects. But now, this one section of the tree is producing again. And the mangoes are glorious. They're huge, plump and heavy. A couple of them have fallen, mostly due to wind and rain, but my brother has taken to actually harvesting them so we're getting them store-quality with no blemishes.

Somewhere, he found a long-handled sickle (12 feet (4 meters) long and which I have never seen before in our collection of tools) and has taken to going out almost daily to gently swipe at the ripest looking fruit. Sometimes he has to climb a ladder first. If they're ready, they fall. If not, he'll try again in a day or so.

Three mangoes, peeled and cubed, filled two quart containers yesterday. (I quit after three because I managed to stab myself in the palm.) There are close to a dozen more on the counter awaiting attention (and the availability of more containers) and still there are a couple dozen more on the tree.

Meanwhile, Neighbor Mike's tree is now overflowing with ripe fruit, too, although his are golden yellow all over where ours turn orange/red retaining green undertones. None of his have fallen yet, but neither have we seen him picking any.