Today’s post is a mash up of sorts. A few tips from Strawberry E on plant breeding, followed by an update on my training, and a random cartoon clip just for the hell of it. It’s Friday and I do what I want!

I had some really hilarious comments to my post yesterday about mangoes and the creation story. Most of them were just funny but one in particular was quite useful for those of you wanting to cross-breed some fruit (bow-chicka-bow-bow). I may have mentioned that Strawberry E, a friend from the running group, is a certified strawberry breeder. She went to school for smarty-pants and now works for a big, huge fruit company who shall go nameless. In any event, here’s what she had to say:

“There’s so much I could write here, since you’ve ventured into my area of passion, that I’m not sure where to start! First, the biblical temptation fruit is under much discussion. I’ve heard it argued that everything from bananas to pomegranates to oranges was the ‘real’ apple. However, I kind of like the mango idea, especially because it is in the poison ivy family, and the leaves and skin of the fruit will give a poison ivy type rash to sensitive individuals (me!), so there’s a delicious but dangerous aspect to it. However, I will have to argue that a tree ripened peach is usually better than a mango.

Finally, as for crossing apples and mangoes- going back to the family discussion: apples are in the rose family and mangoes are in the poison ivy family, and while closely related species can often be hybridized, such different crops will probably never be crossed. But we are working on strawberries and blackberries…”

And there you have it. Black-straw-berries are on the way! Sweet!

On the training tip, I did more cycling/biking (which word do I use triathletes?) than running this week. My good buddy Old Wonky has been creeping about so I am playing it safe.* I’m pretty sure it’s because I was in his old stomping grounds, the hills. While he was there, LC and Spiedi were no where to be found.** Ba-dum-dum. Try the veal, I’ll be here all week!

I’m being safe, so that next Saturday (the 31st) I’m not sorry during my first EVER triathlon. Yikes! Tomorrow I will hit up my 10 mile run and see how it goes.

I hope you all have lovely weekends. May your runs be fast, and your weekends go by slow.

I leave you with this cartoon, because I do what I want!

*Old Wonky is my ankle injury/tendinitis.
**MTV show called The Hills, where dumb, rich twenty-somethings annoy each other and me.