Outdoor Prop Station

Four new props introduced to my long standing outdoor PS. The Rosemry
tucked in the back is the second iteration in as many weeks. First attempt was
indoors but I think the ceiling fans constant blowing did me great favor, not
so much for the recent amputated cutting who's just trying to switch into survival
and set up some roots. Only to blasted by desert like winds.

There are no assured results here, so surprise and amaze me props.
I'm selfishly giving you a heads start, soil and moisture with morning's
first light. Now it's up to you. Survivor mode sequence energized.

To Our small minded Civic Leaders

in this time of unprecedented time of Corona.

LAKELAND      FLORIDA       LIVES      MATTERS

Mayor and Commissioners making the worst spectacle/decisions when

lives matters

Oh and lets not forget our   REALLY   SLOW   FL  GOV

FLORIDA    LIVES    MATTERS

Not your political leanings and misplaced ambitions, you hear me to Lakeland?

 

ALL  OF  YOU,  INCLUDING  OUR  OBLIVIOUS 

CITIZENS

OUR  FAILING  TO DO THE

physical distancing

RIGHT  THING.

Takes a ginormously deep breath.......I feel a lot better. *Takes a bow*

The Grand Dame or Master...

of our Cuban Tree Frog Clan?

Not the largest I've seen but my neighbor was complaining about a frog
was messing on her porch siding. Could this be the culprit, only doing
what frogs naturally do besides eat.

Besides, if it's going to be obvious and not conspicuous as it was spotted
at my back door's porch's Ballard.

Springing from it's perch at my first attempt to encapsulate this night
creature, out for a snack no doubt, at my lighted back porch's smorgasbord.
One of many adaptive adjustments that this creature uses to thrive in our humanurban environment.

With numbers decreasing due to my successful campaign thus far, already seeing
the return of the smaller indefensible creatures sightings increase.

 
This young lowly toady can attest to that unscientific observation.

My second and successful attempt, while vicariously hanging from it's
expertly executed aerial exhibit of gangly flight, as I might not of mentioned
was nearly three feet. Mind you that this near Olympian feat was from a seated
stance. Hanging onto it's life on a a limb not very well supported of it's relative
mas making the capturing, easypeasy. Who knew my collection of Talenti
containers would serve as great containing sorbetto, cuttings (props) and frogger
escape pods.



While chill in captivity and we humans love to project or feelings onto nature's
creatures. Almost as if wanting to be relinquished to the land of the big lake.

In continuation of my 2019 campaign. This bigg'em requires the similar
courtesy and intervention as the majority of the others as humanely (creaturly)
possibly.

Just When You Thought...

that ants couldn't get any smaller, I present.

The micro-minature ant.

I know, I know, your blinded by the dwarf Mexican petunia's fragile beauty.

 Look closer. I didn't realize what this insect was until I processed this
bewildering discovery.

The ant(s) spotted this beauty way before I did. This weathered beauty' first
bloom of the season already in it's autumn phase as the ants harvested what
they can before I came to get a faded glamor shot.

The last hold out paused on the petaled lip, grateful perhaps that this was left
behind to be foraged for it's last resources and not plucked or eaten.

Looks Like I Made Up...

for missing Florida's Arbor day, which is the third Friday in January.
By planting two of my Jack Fruit seedlings. Do to my limited sun patches
in my yard. I felt that I had to dig up my Shaving Brush tree and put it back
in a pot whence it came from, besides this specimen's bulbous base needs to be
spotlighted that only potted culture can highlight a long with the extra waterings
this specimen requires but was not getting where it was located before, having to
rely on the natural elements.

See those rain barrels. That is my answer to our natural dry season and I 'm
into my third barrel. No telling how this will play out. Probably like the weather,
who knows.

Shaving Brush tree back in a pot again and what about that base!

Two Jack Fruit trees down, down into the ground and one more to go.

This New Spiderweb Hens & Chicks Is Morphing

Not yet Giraffe like proportions but on it's way.

Only a few weeks after jettison, although tethered copies of this new life form
then it proceeds in telescoping this life form. I sure hope all this expended energy
is spectacular display of life.

Nothing Like A Good

sweat after wrapping up three garden do's. You know instead of have to do's these
are one a day do's. If they happen, fantastic. If not, there may be another day. Visiting
that stay in moment, does that to you.

Yesterday's garden do was, it doesn't matter. However, as in just now it
did bring back garden do's for my paternal grandma. Once again, self imposed,
which gave me a great sense of pride and accomplishment. As the garden do's
do now but they are more reflective with a meditative well being.

Sweat with a dose of sunshine's vitamin D with a meditative dose for the mind.
That now make a garden do's into a whole mind and body do's.

Encore Beauty

Oh look, this beauty has a guardian to.

Compari Tomato Plant Rejuvenation

adding a top dressing of compost to severely trimmed back and exhausted
giver of one of the most popular garden vegetable to boost the nutrients
and for some moisture retention. After all I spent a lot of energy collecting
some rain for my special needs specimens.

Just might extend it's life and get another crop of home grown tomatoes.
That's not asking too much.

Focus On Somethig Else...

hmmmmmmm...I don't think I could ever run out of gardening tasks.

This once was a sheet moss ball with a Coconut orchid. Sheet moss
turned into a high maintenance item that gets no sympathy nor the
energy to keep it in existence.

This is also in it's second iteration, sphagnum moss replaced the sheet moss,
with added large charcoal chunks.

I will open this nugget to see how viable this plastic netting lump of bio mass
to see what I can do to give this hanger on new life.

A couple of fleshy viable roots, showing promise. Change up the color of netting
for a binder, royal purple for our times in coronas. Reuse the charcoal for mass and
I hope aid in moisture retention. Add some Spanish moss, keeping the original theme,
albeit more for esthetics. Reuse the para cord and artificial twine to bind and hang.
Attached Talenti lid to the base to assist in capturing needed moisture.

I know just where to hang this living mass of wonder. Amongst my new change of
scenery, that's where.

One more added interest to gaze upon until the novelty wares off. While there
is still the possibility to witness nature take a liking to it. For example, our lizards
always manage to find the newness in it's environment and try to maximize it's
usefulness.

Hey, if I was a lizard, I would think this was a pretty chill spot to hang out
and play it's card right and get a sip of aqua. Don't know how well a lizard's
sense of smell is, but they would be in for a real treat once this orchid comes
into bloom.

Bachelor Cafe (Corona) Presents

Two new sides with some Mediterranean influences. First tin's steamed eggplant are
from my potted garden. That's not bragging, that's just grateful pride. This was
dressed with my favorite marinara sauce topped with roasted cashews with a
squeeze of lemon and turn of ground black pepper corns.

This second side show is all ready dressed for this photo op. Substituted eggplant
with store bought the brussel sprouts. All the way from Mexico, compliments of Aldi's.
Tossed in those flavor bombs, manzanilla green olives. Will have to do a deep dive to
find the origins of the name of olives.

At The Time of Corona Spring Orchid Bloom Blast

As the Corona virus blooms so does the orchid. Unlike the unflinching beauty
of the orchid one can not the same for this pandemic virus.

This incredibly fragrant orchid will launch it's blooms not for another month. Right
on schedule.

Another orchid right on schedule, whose common name is easy to remember.
Mini-Vanda with some shocking pink blooms to let everyone know it's hear to be
seen and not smelled.




This new orchid acquired last fall appears to be a bi-yearly bloomer, launching
it's spring collection for the first time here in this time of Corona.

orange chicken scratches as indicated

I will have to check under the hood to see if there are anymore new beginnings.

Bravo!

PS As I suspected after close observation to find that there are actually
three new budding flower clusters.

New Rosemary Props

 Trust and tied like brand new Christmas tree newly planted seedlings.

A warm welcoming portrait with the burgeoning gang of this season's proppies...new word.

The others still a bit camera shy like my nephew's wife 'A'. Whom

have taken a death run to Florida for a family function in

the Season of Corona.

This Early Morning's Dance of the Planets

Over the last two days as I reinstate my walking around the lake. What do I see
and suspect in he predawn sky? After some online research my curiosity finds
the planet Mars dancing with Saturn and Jupiter along with a witness, the moon.

This collage of two days snap shots overlaid graphics of this event is as follows:

In these two days the Moon was waxing to it's final crescent, as if winking in
it's delight of this sight. Mars is making the motions while Saturn and Jupiter
are almost as dazzled as I.

FYI the two pin points of light are my camera shots of Mars two day movement.

You Heard That Expression...

You need a change of scenery and without leaving your back door step.

 For a change of scenery I relocated this potted Afrocarpus specimen to the
opposite side of my porch. It's prior location of two years, which caught
the western sun and appeared to being getting baked.

Our collective direction for social distancing gave me the inspiration to change
my home's scenery and to prevent my own sense of walls from closing in, sort
of speak.

The cost you ask? My own labor, repotting and a trim. Viola...the change of scenery I
expected and was granted. For a constant gardener that goes a long way.

This not only changes the scenery going in/out the door but provides another
layer of texture with another shade of greenery. Black iron works moved
with it to provide stability and another hanging point to add to this new
scene of green, should the need arise.

Spring Has Sprung In The Time Of Corona and What Beauty!

What could be the most polar opposite than these times we find our selves in?

One of life's many quests, certainly one of most alluring, which is beauty.

That moment that slows time, your vision is transfixed that cements this
moment into a dreamy snapshot into that almost unattainable realm.

Need I say it again? I won't have to, just look at what comes next.

Right Profile

First bloom from a cane cutting just over three months ago. This long stemmed
begonia reveals one of everal functions for survival, a flower. Certainly not it's most
reliable means, other than appealing and attracting other creatures other than our selves.
As to developing viable seeds remains to be seen. Not that I had bothered to look. What
is the beauty in that. However, one of these days I just might find out for my self and
reveal it's germinating beauty.

Left Profile

If I had a Drone...an Aerial Profile

@Forty-five degrees

If I was a lizard view

Another Visit From The Green Streak

What a poser.

Sipping up what the orchid shrugs off from my afternoon watering.

Dry season rain water gets rationed.

I'll say that this four legged green bean got lucky or this just ripe lime colored
crawl daddy strikes the mother load.

Better Than Christmas

Newly adorned hanging plant habitat which, could get an update once I took another
look at this new addition, along with it being a place holder for my not yet dead Ant Plant.

Appended.

Two Stars Lost Then Found

First catch went down the hatch.

This spent blossom is from a wild sweet potato vine that climed up a tree on the
other side of the yard. These tiny bromiliads are great at catching lost blossoms.

Then theirs this second one found just minutes apart. It's not like they are strewn
all over the yard. What are the chances?

Unless they were stars in another dimension.

Garden Therapy And Memory Installation

One volunteer please...

I close my eyes just for a second and what jumps out of the ground...a clueless
volunteer.

If it could speak and scream.   Pick me...oh oh oh...me me me. Or just take a step forward.

With many sacrifices, some willing and others had no choice, either through
negligence and or arrogance. Comes beauty, sadness, mosquito bites and back
aches.

To give this endeavor and with all due respect. I dedicate these garden memories to.

China...

and then Italy...

I know what your saying...how can you tell them apart.

then comes Germany...

then USA...

and to all the others that had great sacrifices...

...we are the World.

Unlike a virus, all this plant required to spread was a helping hand.