The Beauty of Papaya...

Do you eat papayas?


if you can get them...
I highly recommend this delicious fruit


our papaya trees attract roosting birds...


and flower lovely blooms and give us food

this tree is a female...
her flowers bloom close to the trunk


it is a larger bloom than...


her male counterpart...
whose flowers are smaller...
and bloom on long stems away from the trunk...
never to become papayas, but with a job to do, nonetheless


after the male flowers, bees and other pollinating insects do their jobs...
the flower of the female papaya tree slowly grows into...


beautiful little globes of fruit...


growing larger until...


they become yellow as they ripen


I waited for this little one of the smaller species


just big enough to hold in my hand...
and packing a lot of  edible sweetness


I eat some of the seeds along with the flesh...
full of papain enzymes = good digestion
lots of vitamins ~ antimicrobial ~ boosts immunity
expels and prevents parasites (I put a few seeds in my dogs' food)
assists in restoration of good bacteria in the gut
the skin is used as a wound treatment


and, of course,
I always leave a bit in the boat of the skin for my chickens


our two rescued battery cage hens didn't know what to make of it...
they didn't know what real food is...
I'll tell you about them in another post


and did you know...?
papaya leaves are just as beneficial...
used as a tea
although very bitter...
a little bit steeped in hot water goes a long way


the seeds are a wonderful substitute for black pepper...
full of benefits...
they can be washed under running water in a strainer...


lightly dried with a clean towel...
spread out on wax paper to keep from sticking...
and let air dry for about a week to two weeks

they will become dry and crunchy...
easily ground to course or fine...
you can sprinkle on anything you please...
and get some healthy saponins that are antimicrobial


if you are interested in more information on papaya...
just type in papaya benefits in your web browser...
or for a quick look, check out

if you live far enough south or in a tropical land...
you can easily grow your own
papaya trees are fast growing...
giving fruit in just several months

just take a dried seed and plant it in good soil in a pot...
replant when it has several leaves on the tiny trunk


May your day, or night be ever so sweet in God's grace.