Olives, Opossums, and All Kinds of Oranges

In Living Color’s A to Z Challenge continues to cause reflections that amaze me.

This opossum watched me grill our dinner one February night during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.

Shocking me as he sat on the side of the grill when I appeared to check on our meat, he moved to the edge of the deck but stayed until I finished grilling and returned inside with our dinner.

This isn’t the first encounter with an opossum. Years before, we had grilled chicken wings to crisp them up, and later that evening heard noise on our deck.

My husband went out to investigate and found an opossum inside the base of the grill, presumably catching bits of meat and skin that had fallen through.

We scared him off by turning the deck lights on and banging on the window.

We haven’t seen any opossums since — even though we live in a more rural area now. Other wildlife seen in our backyard were coyotes, deer, eagles, hawks, foxes, and the occasional stray cow from a nearby farm. (Although cows aren’t wildlife, the animal seemed pretty wild to us!)

Olives

I love olives. Black, green, Greek, French, pitted, or unpitted, brined or unbrined, I love them. I’ve been known to eat many an olive when preparing a pasta salad or add too many to a plate of souvlaki.

Olives are salty, tangy, sometimes bitter (if brined), but always delicious!

My sister-in-law brought some olives back from Greece. She traveled there last December and I benefited by receiving olive oils, green spices for cooking, and this package of olives!

I’ve become accustomed to keeping generous amounts of olive oil for cooking, and dipping.

Olives and olive oil are a large part of a Mediterranean diet. They are considered “healthy” sources of fat.

Oranges

While I like oranges I have to admit to liking the color better than the fruit.

After all, my favorite butterfly — the Monarch — is mostly orange. Here’s a male monarch I raised, sitting on a Limelight Hydrangea in our front yard, just before he migrates in the fall.

Orange is often a color in sunsets — one of my favorite things to photograph.

I’m lucky to live in a spot where fantastic sunsets are the norm! I even like peachy-type oranges in the sky, especially when they reflect on the calm lake waters.

Then there was this sunset last December, over the frozen lake. It was stunning — almost like the sky was on fire! I couldn’t stop snapping photos.

I’m even fascinated with orange mushrooms like this “lobster” mushroom my husband found on the trail this summer. The color comes from a parasite that lives on this variety mushroom.

And who could miss this tiny orange mushroom set against the verdant moss?

And sometimes, I do use oranges in cooking or for eating as a snack. My blood orange and pomegranate pork loin was a hit last year at holiday time!

Fall is my favorite season, and I believe part of the reason is that it’s colorful. Here in the Northwoods, we are treated to a display by Mother Nature each fall. The orange leaves really pop out, don’t they?

Yes, the letter O is for olives, opossums, and oranges of all types! I just like to gaze at it, don’t you?

Thanks to JoAnn Ryan and In Living Color for offering this A to Z Challenge! If you need more alphabetized inspiration, you can check out these posts from fellow writers who are participating in the challenge.

Taimen writes about All the D things that inspire and there are some beauties!

And here’s one that can serve as inspiration for starting the Challenge by Osan Fernando.

Enjoy the visual stimulation as you travel through the alphabet!