thanks to everyone here for posting such congenial introductions, plus beautiful photos and life stories. Been a member here for so long but for so long didn’t want to (dis)grace the occasion by posting mine. Admittedly owe some members a bit of info as to 1) what i am and 2) where i’ve been doing…
anyway, my name is rafael and just like many members here, i have a green thumb, or at least i pretend to have one. And hoping someday to have two…
have been married ~25 yrs and been a dad for just about as long. And like many here, i also have a laundry-list of hobbies and interests. Started cultivating greens as a 4 yr old, which got interrupted by ‘adolescent/manly’ stuff as bikes, gunpowder, etc, which didn’t last long. Apparently my testosterone levels declined just as quickly as it peaked, reverting me to my childhood endeavors–resumed growing greens in my late teens. Heck even diversified to flowers… you just can’t get more “manly” than that, lol!
spent about half my “growing years” dabbling in ultra- or sub-tropicals(from herbs, to fruit trees to torch gingers, to orchids ad infinitum) in the isle of luzon, philippines, while the next half i spent on temperate/xerophytic species here in las vegas, nv. And yes, have grown papayas and avocados for years, and have grown them from seed. If been posting so much about temperate species in this forum, it is because this forum is predominantly about temperate species. If this was a tropical fruit forum i’d go by the name of bananarambutan instead of jujubemulberry!
unfortunately don’t have selfies with papayas/avocados–simply because averse to having photos taken of myself, but below should be evidence of my island experience. My tropical version of flora and faux-na in the middle of manila. Bromeliads, heliconias, and tree ferns should be enough proof 
also raised a multitude of pet species, from dogs, to chickens, to lovebirds, tortoises and even electric eels/scorpions/spiders… Found these old photos with my forest tortoises and cuora box turtles