I wonder how many times we sit at our desk
and look out the window on a sunny day,
wishing we were on a tropical beach
lazing in the sun under a coconut tree
watching the sparkling waters
as they race up the sandy beach.
Having a lazy day with the sand and sea,
enjoying Mother Nature’s beautiful bounty.

A dream maybe,
but a dream to help us through
any storms that may weather our lives,
giving us hope for tomorrow
and the sunny day that might bring.

We look at the blue sky
and the odd white fluffy clouds
that shape into many things,
helped along with warm comforting winds.

Our mind is full of images
that build our favourite dreams
as we while away a few minutes
oblivious to everything.

Daydreaming our fondest dreams
before reality kicks in
and the opalescent workload
on our desk appears once again
to take us away
from our tropical paradise
and implant us back in our reality.

David Harris

Coconuts are a member of the palm family. Although a coconut is a stone fruit with only one seed it is incorrectly called a nut. In the tuft of the palm under the armpits of every new formed leaf a coconut grows within approximately 14 months. The coconut is harvested as a green and unripe fruit. The leathery wax coated outer skin turns yellowish when the fruit is ripe. Underneath it has a thick filament layer which again covers a very hard inner pod. For transport reasons the outer skin of the majority of coconuts on sale have been removed.

One assumes that the coconut originates from Melanesia, a pacific island group which lies north-easterly of Australia. The coconut has spread across much of the tropics, probably aided in many cases by seafaring people. It is known that this stone fruit has an extreme high resistance against salt and is therefore widespread. Without losing its germination capacity it can drift in the ocean up until 100 days.