Harbor Walk And A South African Lawyer

Yesterday I took a walk down to the harbor here on Bainbridge Island.  

 And on my way back I did a double take when I saw this fairly mature palm tree.  Don't see a lot of them as far north as Seattle.  But All About Palm Trees tells there are some:

Palm Trees In Washington

 

There are specific varieties of cold hardy palm trees that can survive zones 8 and 9 of Washington state. Here are palm trees that can live in Washington: 

 

California Fan Palm Tree – Zones 8b - 11 (15 to 20 F) 

Canary Island Date Palm Tree – Zones 8b - 11 (15 to 20 F) 

Chinese Fan Palm Tree – Zones 8a – 11 (10 to 15 F) 

True Date Palm Tree – Zones 8b - 11 (15 to 20 F) 

European Fan Palm Tree – Zones 7b – 11 (5 to 10 F) 

Mexican Fan Palm Tree – Zones 8b - 11 (15 to 20 F) 

Queen Palm Tree – Zones 8b - 11 (15 to 20 F) 

Saw Palmetto Palm Tree – Zones 7a - 11 (0 to 5 F) 

But none of these quite look like the one in the picture.

And the South African lawyer.

My book club met tonight to discuss The Promise by Damon Galgut.  It won the 2021 Booker Prize. There were interesting things about it, but each of the  four parts involved a death and a funeral starting before Independence and then continuing afterward.  No one's life seemed to improve.  But there were a number of sentences with great imagery.  So I just wanted to share two:

"She's not so far advanced in matters of the spirit not to recognize the sound of a rare opportunity clearing its throat."

"The lawyer has amplified over the years, in harmony with her burgeoning practice.  Consumed two husbands along the way and still lazily digesting then. like a python in hibernation."