Talk Talk

Birds on a Wire

Well, here they are. I am always amused...every time I see them. So different from the swallows of my youth.

Juvenile Ibises

Juvenile ibises in the street in front of my house. Missed the better picture: all of them balanced on the telephone wire.

Scanning 3-D Objects

Well, what do you know. I was thinking of pressing this miniature rose in a book but something came over me and promptd me to scan it instead. It would look a lot better if I used a better background than two post-it notes stuck together, but overall, I am quite pleased and I see the potential for some cool new images....I 'painted' in the frame.

Bromeliad 2

As promised, the flower returns. Note the blue buds. As far as I know, the bromeliad is an air plant getting its nourishment from the air and from the rainwater which collects in its large waxy leaves.  It looks more like the top of a pineapple than anything else. Except for the color, of course.

Bromeliad

It gets hot in South Florida.  How hot is it? Today's weather report says:

88°F
Mostly Cloudy
Wind: SE at 12 mph
Humidity: 51%

But I don't mind the heat -- and don't believe that cloudy bit--the sky is blue, the sun is beating, and this flower is growing in my side yard. Wait until you see it next week; it will be even more amazing!

Art and Nature

A friend of mine recently posted a picture of a stunningly beautiful orchid on his his blog and I thought it would be fun to show you a sight from the botanical garden I visited recently , especially since it features Dale Chihuly's fabulous glass sculptures. For more pictures visit Fairchild Tropical Garden here.

I can't say which moves me more--art or nature. The glass seems to be growing or rearing its head!

   

North Carolina

Some of you readers know that my husband and I have recently invested in some property in North Carolina. Since I haven't even seen it yet, I am relieving my anxiety by tormenting him. Here's a poem.

Stopping by Woods on a Cyber Excursion

with apologies to Robert Frost, of course

Whose woods these are I think you know.

There is no road or house here though.

Pat hopes some day you'll all stop here

To watch these woods fill up with snow.

His little wife thinks it is queer

To buy without a cabin near;

It's just a woods--there is no lake--

There could be snakes or even bear!

Pat gives his mobile phone a shake

There's one more deal he has to make--

To dig a road and dig it cheap

So this land won't be a big mistake.

Yes, the woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But we'll be building roads so steep

We've work to do before we sleep.

We've work to do before we sleep.

Florida Bay and the Glades

Last night I saw an Everglades fire--up close. Pat and I were driving home from the Keys. We'd heard the road had been closed, off and on, all day, but it was midnight and we decided to chance it. Traffic moved about 10 miles per hour along Card Sound Road. At least it moved. As we got closer to the mainland I smelled the smoke and looked up from my book to a shock. Imagine this picture* at night, a black night, the trunks glowing red and breathing, little clumps of fires reigniting on the ground near the bottoms of the trees, and all the ground smoking. It looked like the floor of Hell.

*This is not my picture, but it fits the landscape perfectly.

On my way out this evening, I noticed the palms were in bloom. Here are the golden dreadlocks of the Queen in my front yard. More later.