Topa Topa

Topa Topa (Percea americana var. topa topa) is an avocado that when classified by the fruit they would be listed with their nearest relative mexicola. In general Mexicola avocados tend to be round. Topa topa differs from Mexicola in that it has a neck.

Originated in 1907 in Ojai, Topa Topa has a vigorous rootstalk chosen for it's seed. It has a very big seed and the seed in turn produces a very robust sprout which means field budding is more successful because of it big size. This also makes it very easy to work with. They are not often planted as a source of fruit but they are often very productive.

The fruit matures completely black and shiny. The skin on the fruit is thin and delicate and can be eaten along with the flesh which is quite tasty. However, because of the large seed it is not grown commercially. As far as the avocado season goes they are among the earliest to mature. The leaves, when crushed, are very aromatic and have an aroma resembling anise.



The Topa Topa in my fruit orchard arose as a sprout from below the bud union of an existing avocado tree that was not very vigorous. The sprout appeared about eight years ago and I knew by the odor of the leaves that it was Topa Topa and decided to keep it. The original tree did not show the vigor that it should so I thought I would take a chance on the Topa Topa and let it grow. It recently came to my attention that it has a very heavy crop this year which we will be sharing with our friends and neighbors. Last year it bore no fruits but the year before it had a good crop. This performance leads me to believe that it may be alternate bearing.

From a child of Christianity to an old atheist

My early resistance to the whole concept of god started to develop, around the age of 13, from too much pressure to be "born again" so that I would go to heaven.
That did not seem right to me in spite of my mother's pleading. I knew what my Mother had been teaching me was not right and I moved further and further away from Christianity. I had a good training in the Bible and many of the proverbs and the twelve commandments have remained meaningful to me and my life and are certainly applicable to our daily living. I find myself using them in everyday conversation. For example "let him who is without sin cast the first stone". However, the miracles which deny reason such as Jonah and the Whale,pushed me away from Christianity. I have more faith in reason than the passed down stories of miracles that deny scientific principles.

I moved into agnosticism because it was the only term that I knew to describe how I felt about God. I did not know. Agnosticism served me during the greatest period of my life and was to an extent an escape clause from the pressures of fundamentalism that were all around me. I did not develop any antagonism towards Christianity in those early years and this did not interfere in personal or warm friendships with people that had strong religious connections to Christianity, particularly among my friends in the Seventh Day Adventist faith who were often active field biologists and very interested in natural history. They have, to this day, remained active associates and friends.

I could never understand what faith meant and how I was supposed to have faith in something when I have no reason for accepting it's existence. How do you believe in something when there is no evidence of its existence? Many people look to nature for examples of God's existence such as the beautiful flowers. God did not create the flowers they evolved from non-flowering plants such as fern cycads and pines. The flowers combination of color shape and size were selected to attract pollinators and ensure successful reproduction.

In my later years I have gradually moved into what has to be defined as atheism. This is because I now feel that there is no evidence that god exists and that the miracles that we have attributed to God and that have been repeated over and over for thousands of years appear to be false. Miracles such as Noah's Ark defy the laws of nature.I have faith in the laws of nature. The laws of nature are experimentally repeatable and if they are examined and found not to be repeatable they do not become a law of nature. As of yet, nobody has ever shown any evidence to support the existence of god. While the bible is thought to be a written historical record supporting the existence of god, it is a collection of stories reproduced again and again by many different people.

Even though it is my own personal belief that there is no god, there never was and there never will be I have respect for people whose faith is well founded in their own lives. To these people I say with all sincerity, "God Bless You"

I am always open to discuss my thoughts in more detail and explore the thoughts of other thinkers. I invite you to share your thoughts and comments with me.

Observation of ovaposition on the Cactus fly Volucella mexicana

This blog is about the Cactus fly only, the other flies in the photograph are for comparative gross morphology.

1. Family Syrphidae. Volucella mexicana, AKA Cactus fly.
2. Family Stratiomyidae. Hermetia illucens, AKA Solider fly.
3. Family Muscidae. Musca domestica, AKA House fly
4. Family Drosophilidae. Drosophila melanogaster, AKA Fruit fly

The process of egg laying for the cactus fly is unique. One day I witnessed a cactus fly resting on the spine of a cactus with its two front legs fully extended and touching the skin of the cactus, presumably for orientation. I could see that it was preparing for ovaposition. The ovapositer was feeling toward the tip of the spine. Before the Cactus fly could begin laying the egg an aggressive male fly interrupted the female and she flew away. After witnessing this I searched the area and found several other spine tips which had a foamy deposit on them. This observation for me made clear of what I had seen. Below the foamy spine tips layed several decaying cactus pads.