Clerodendrum incisum ‘Macrosiphon’ - Musical Note , Strelitzia Nicolai - Giant White Bird of Paradise and Vanilla planifolia - Vanilla Orchid

Three new plant acquisitions from our farmers market this morning.
It wasn't till I got home did I realize that 'Giant' occured to just what
I had purchased. My neighbor has one in their back yard as is as tall
as their garage.

Notes and Bird

Vanilla

 

Note the red filaments as the flower unfurls on the Musical Notes plant.

Clouds and more clouds.

Clouds with Moon and Bird

Clouds with just Moon

and more Clouds

Tuna Salad with Avacado - Experiment Kitchen

1 small can of Albacore Tuna in water
7 small green Spanish olives (Manzanilla)
half Shallot
10 Black Grapes
2 sliced Dill Pickles
1 Hass Avocado (not shown)
3T Yellow Mustard (not shown)

Chop vegetables and fruit add Avocado
and Yellow mustard and mix well.

Notes: Did not taste the pickles could have
used more? Meant to add some Key Lime
juice and forgot or maybe some fresh Pink
Grapefruit, hmmm.

Shown with Avocado and added mustard. 

Needless to say this turned out well , a pleasant surprise with the added Avocado.

Cocoa pudding made with Avacado - Experiment Kitchen

No photo to accompany this post because I inhaled the fast concocted experiment.

One ripe Hass Avacado
One ripe Banana
1 Tb Agave Nectar w Vanilla
1/2 c Cocoa
2 t Coconut Oil

Mixed all ingredients the best I can with a fork in bowl and quickly dispensed
with the evidence.

Notes: Not sure if the Coconut Oil added anything to the mix and possibly
could have added a pinch sea salt. I can see why one would use a processor
but a fork and hand is the best that I can do.

Texas Ebony - Ebenopsis ebano

Harvested seeds a month ago from our public library and just now getting around
to germinating said seeds. I chose to use a Dremel to break the hard shelled surface
by a sixteenth of an inch in hopes to speed up the germinating process.

I harvested last and current season of seeds and chose the last years seeds to
germinate. This tree will be an evergreen dense, small foliage and relatively
small specimen of a tree with fragrant cream colored blossoms. I hope will
add years of fascination to this Florida landscape.

Not that I'm getting ahead of myself. There shape and growth lend themselves
to Bonsai culture which will be my basis and inspiration for it's pruning regime.

I learned the process of scarifying the seed surface from my father when he used
the process to germinate some northern Locust tree seeds. The Black Locust tree
is in the same family of trees, I believe as the Ebony tree.


Nearly three hours later and an increase in size and one note worthy seed that
had some of the seed coat already chipped away and cracked. Also a clearer
picture of the notches that were dremeled.

Received my ballet bar today via Amazon to facilitate my Yoga Barre class that I'm taking.


Wrapped up first season of AMC Halt and Catch Fire tv series.

Finally a white Yucca Bloom - Yucca Liliales yucca

Back in May I had posted a picture of a potted Yucca specimen that was
towering out  and even threatening to bust out of the confines
of it's limited container.

Even a month back I started to notice other
Yucca's in bloom but mine? No signs of flowering.

I find that cutting back
the Yucca and re-rooting the tops were a convenient means to keep
this rampant grower in check, which is one of the first rules of
finding the ideal spot for a plant so as not to have to keep cutting
back because one didn't allow for natural state of growth and their
needs and above else, esthetics. Form over function here, every time.

So due to my keen eye for esthetics and obsessiveness. I decide to cut
back my potted Yuccas to reclaim my large planters and to replant
and share said cuttings. Of all the cuttings that I had offered and could
of been taken the one that was left behind had flowered to my astonishment.

As I post this I had to check out another tall Yucca to see if there might
be a bloom ready to open and of course there wouldn't be. It didn't want
to upstage this once towering Yucca that could.

Collage Omage to the Angel Trumpet Redux

This is not the first time this specimen
received a  salute.
  I was intrigued by it's paleness
commencement this time of year.
 Instead of it's peachy beginnings
it prefers to disguise itself with
a milky white complexion, then
the next day reveal it's peachy
surprise (not shown).

Last night we received a welcome
heavy rain.







Wrapped up watching Low Winter Sun AMC tv series. Enjoyed several of the  main
characters, one being the city of Detroit.


Didn't waist starting on another AMC series Halt and Catch Fire.

Dragon fruit update. Also known as 'Pitaya'

Dragons may be trestle'd and slowly recovering from amputation, not
to mentioned being gnawed at by some ferocious snails too. Yet still
doing it's best to survive at this bamboo temple and desolate looking
place foreign and yet hospitable.

Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts in Fritata...Cacao tree update.

Added pasts sauce (not shown).








Wrapped up my eight week Yoga Barre class Thursday. Went and bought a free
standing/adjustable height ballet bar through Amazon. Thinking I might sign up
for another eight classes for Frankie's instruction.


It has been a week now and my Cacao tree has put on a new leaf.
I had also sacrificed three other leaves that had started to turn yellow. 

I also can't get over how translucent the new leaf is, as shown in the second photo.

Hmmm...Coccoon or Crysalis? This just in...Bagworm Moth bag!

After working in the yard yesterday morning and it was hard because it was hot and
it needed to be done. I happen to discover this little gem to lighten the mood. A quick
search on-line didn't help much other than it could be a moth of some kind.

Lizard hitch-hiker and it looks like he's done this before.

New indoor location for the Cacao plant. We all know that indoors is the most inhospital to most plants.

I have been successful with a full spectrum light source

that has been left on 24/7 the majority of times.

This plant requires understory lighting and not direct light, which

I hope this setup will provide. This plant also requrires high humidity, which

will be the challenge. I've been misting this plant whenever I walk

past this plant. Time will tell. Will monitor that the leaves don't dry out

and that the new leaves mature well.

First of two final coats of paint on the last set of windows on my house.

I'm at the bottom of the paint can too, keep fingers crossed.

Japanese Eggplant purchased at the downtown farmers's market. Experimental Kitchen.

Theobroma cacao

Along with a Cacao plant (above) and some homemade bread (not impressed).
I prepared the eggplant this morning in my electric stainless steal
skillet, added some pasta sauce and EVO. Great!

A lasting memory when I was about twelve years old. Our neighbor , Mrs.
Guest grew her own Eggplant and not the Japanese variety. She would
bread and fry hers and when I grew my own and tried to prepare it the
same way it was not crispy but mushy. Needless to say it didn't go over
well with the family. Even back then I wanted to introduce new foods
or recipes.

Experiment kitchen - Brussels Sprouts and Tomato Basil canned soup.

What to do with some remaining Brussels Sprouts. Still not giving up on this
Wild Oats brand of soup, at least just not yet. Not bad, still needing something tho.

Buhda Belly Bamboo first new shoot in three years.

Lower right hand corner there is a new bamboo shoot coming up. This is
probably its third season and this is the first time it has put on a new shoot.
First time it has had its needs met. It was my understanding that the bulbous
growth happens after it has been stressed, so so much for stressing it out.

For the uninitiated, the sprout is located at the bottom right of photo. Just
look for the little sprout. 

Last set of windows primed with paint.

Various updates, cuttings, seedlings and new bloom.

Easter cactus cutting has a new sprout of new growth.

Drunkard's Dream cactus also doing well with new growth. This is also interplanted
with a long hanging cactus that I've yet to identify.

Mistletoe Cactus hanging out of the pot is doing well also. One of a few invasive
plants that I hope I don't regret taking on.

Hesperaloe Parviflora, Red Yucca first time bloom since purchased it four years ago
from downtown farmers market. Saw these in San Antonio, Tx being used in a lot
of commercial landscaping.

My Ghost Albino Amryillis seedling has given up the ghost. Like a fallen knight or
sleeping beauty, take your pick. It rests from a brief and glorious reign amongst the
pigmented free.

A fallen Angel no doubt one of many pollen collectors,eaters or predators that have
 been drawn to my Chinese Box Orange bush that has been ablaze with bees.

First ripe tomato from my volunteer tomato plant this morning. It was a bit bloated and
split from yesterday's rain and soon to get another drench here in a minute. This plant
has some sort of blight I suspect, never seen this one before. dark veins through out
the new growth before the leaves darken. I'm trying to stay ahead of it and cut off the
offending branches.

 Getting ready to start on the last set of exterior house windows that need painting,
which means that I am contemplating and waiting on weather break.

Moving Time! - Michelia figo - Banana Shrub

Moved two Tea Olive trees and one Banana Shrub. These had been planted here
 from where they are being moved from for nearly four years. Too much sun and
dry for the Tea Olive and had not the Banana Shrub been such an attractive
specimen I would have dug it out years ago. I had purchased the Banana Shrub
when it was not in bloom and I was told how much it smells like bananas, well
I said to my self that I hope it doesn't smell like artificial bananas. Most people
make banana bread with artificial ingredients that they wouldn't know what the real
deal should smells like. Sure enough as soon as it bloomed, I said, what's that
smell?

Besides, my neighbor planted some trees that will quickly shade out these bushes
so where they are moved to now will be a lot better over all.

Certified cityfied parking lot sentinals.

What appears to me to be three juvenile birds of prey, possibly Ospreys.
As a storm is approaching and hunkering down and just as curious of me
as I am of them with their humorous back and forth wavering heads and
sounding their characteristic bird cries. Going on with their lives utilizing
man made perch to them and a convenient night lighting for us. We are
both the winners, to them their next meal and to us a peak of natural wonder
amongst of a busy parking lot.

What's a buzzin! Find the bees and lizard amongst the Severinia buxifolia - Chinese box orange.

Severinia buxifolia -  Chinese box orange

Potted beach stones at the feet of Dragon(s fruit plant).

Mexican Beach (Basalt)Stones and blond stones found
at Twin Piers Beach on Longboat Key, Florida.

The last remnants of the Ice Cream Bean tree - Inga edulis  a.k.a. Inga-Cipo that
 was given to me by a co worker many years ago and from So. America. This
years dry spell to it's toll perhaps the summers rains...nah.

Plumeria Pudica 'everlasting love'

Cutting set in pot, this week. Leaf shape distinguishes from other Plumerias.

The Desert Rose - Adenium obesum

First bloom of the season and how easy it to see

why it caught my eye

 eye,

 eye,

eye.

It's RAINING! A rain to officialy usher in The Rainy Season.

This was yesterday's tease of drops of rain.

Looking West is what Brandon
was getting...dramatic and some possible weather.

This morning painted south side stucco wall and chimney.

This afternoon rain, glorious rain and some thunder.

It's 8:42p and still a light rain.

Next day a rain gift.

 Potted beach stones, both from the Gulf of Mexico region. The black Basalt pebbles origins
possibly could be Peru, also, courtesy of Loews. The blond colored stone was collected from
Twin Piers beach on Longboat Key, Florida (Gulf Coast). Nestled at feet of Dragons.