Banana harvesting

Today my land lady came over to check how I was doing for water, still no running water on the Island, I have almost 1/2 a barrel left by my pila so I can still carry some into my house with a pail to wash, have a sponge bath and drink. Supposedly a pipe is broken and they are working on  it. She notices that a bunch  of bananas on one of my trees are ready, I'm excited, have been waiting to harvest bananas since last year. She goes to get her machete...because all good women here have machetes, I have one too but I let her use hers because I think hers is sharper than mine....I think it's better that mine is not so sharp, at least I won't completely cut my hand off and it might be easier to patch up should I have a accident or is it easier to patch a clean cut?..not sure. While I am still giggling with excitement I must of had my head turned for a second, thump! she falls the whole tree with the bananas still on it. I'm stunned, I realize that the tree has to come down but I would have carefully picked the bananas off first, only one banana got schoomoshed that rest all fared well. Not her first day harvesting bananas. There were about 30 all together, she takes 1/2 and leaves me the rest, I am thrilled, (still giggling) about 3 of them are ready to eat and I eat one right away, oh my gosh...I can't believe I ate a banana right from the tree, where I come from this only happens in movies, but then at least once a day I feel like I am living in the movies here. I take the rest and wash them and put them in a sad looking bowl...certainly not worthy of beautiful handpicked bananas, (it was actually my colander) I put "nice baskets" on my shopping list for when I head in to the mainland next time. This would be a beautiful centerpiece on my kitchen table, if I had one. My landlady lent me one last year but apparently it is not available for lending this year. My table that I made last year houses my office, my laptop, printer and magic jack phone, camera and kindle....no wonder my extension cord blew up the other day when I was blow drying my hair. Electricity here is just not made to power everything at once. So I am on the lookout for a new to me kitchen table, I could get a plastic coco cola table that are abundant everywhere, which I will get for outside but for inside I want something with more character...I am living in the movies after all. But now I have to go and stare at my bananas. Here is a picture so you can stare at them too.

These are the banana that will be ready in about 2 weeks

The banana bowl

Bananas, the green ones ripened very quickly

yummmmyummm

Did you know that a banana tree only produces bananas once, which is why you cut the tree down when you harvest the bananas and then it sends a new shoot out of the ground. Apparently once you have banana trees you cannot get rid of them, and why would you want to? I have another bunch of bananas that will be ready in about 2 months I'm told....I hope I'll have a pretty basket and table by then.