Orchids, Chairs, Rain, and Cats

There was a hint made that we [I] didn't buy any orchids during this trip. WRONG! I just photographed them yesterday as proof positive that we have been enjoying their beauty since early January when we bought them for a song in Port St Lucie.

This first one is a peloric orchid hybrid which I would not normally buy because of their confused breeding: what flowers you get can vary dramatically from year to year. In bloom, this plant has been quite phenomenal: the blooms have lasted since early January and show no hint of approaching their 'best before' date. This plant has even opened three buds since we own it. It's been quite a stunning show all along.

This next orchid is a much smaller bloom [1.5"] on a smaller plant. Christopher would like a white orchid [or more] for his office. This hybrid is called Phalaenopsis Timothy X Christopher, likely a good candidate for the office if I can part with it. It did have about 7 blooms, and they all were beyond their due date today, so I cut the spike off. It has been a cutie since January though. Christopher may have to wait...

This nearly red hybrid has also given us much joy. The plant has been growing and has produced two new buds that might open when we get home. It has lost about 6 blooms in the last week or so. Again, a long bloomer, and as far as I'm concerned, a decent 'almost' red which I did not have.

On other matters, here's a question for the grandkids and anyone else that wants to play. What is special about this next picture? It does have a story to tell, a story of eventual problems and possible demise. Click on the picture to see a larger version...

By the way, and without giving any hints, the story happened overnight and is quite a normal occurrence in Florida and other tropical places.

We had torrential rains this morning, complete with lightning and much thunder. Here's a quick shot from our balcony when the rain was not at its strongest, but it was pelting enough to drench anyone venturing out.

The rain actually leaked into the rear seat of the car... Our first leak in the convertible! Not a good thing...

It could be that the feral cats in the area, that have been luxuriating on the roof, may have made a few holes... I'm hoping that the wet / dry process will close the leak. Maybe a convertible top shop in Ottawa could remedy the situation without too much trouble or expense.

At any rate, after the big rain and T'storms this morning, this cat decided that a convertible top was a good place to rest...

Not too long afterwards, another feral cat thought the latent engine heat might be comfortable...

Soon thereafter, both were on the roof, doing what cats do best: surveying their Dominium from some height. What a life.

Over the years, many seasonal residents in Grayton and the area have left pets behind when it was time to return home. Over the years, many feral cats have populated the area. While they are good controls over mice and other pests, they were becoming pests themselves.

Apparently, the local council and concerned citizens joined forces and captured the feral cats, had them neutered, then released them into the area. Each neutered cat has a bit of their ear cut off, so it's easy to spot the 'treated' ones. Both cats on the roof are feral cats with ear tips missing. Cherri, our landlady, has food and drink out for about 7 feral cats and they all enjoy a pretty good life around here, considering they are fairly wild cats in a near civic environment. What a clever program to solve a constant problem!

The stripped one has become tame enough to be petted by almost anyone, while the marmalade coloured one is more reticent. The tabby actually can be found sitting on Cherri's desk at times...

On more serious matters, we're packing up, sorting customs papers, and getting ready to move northward on Friday.

Rosemary Beach Car Show 2011

The Rosemary Beach car show is not a very big show, but it always seems to have some nice cars, and the setting is very special: the grass is golf course quality, watered daily and regularly cut, or maybe I should say trimmed. While comfortable to walk on, the green does overpower reflections in shiny things like cars, chrome... but I digress.

Here's an early 50s MG TD that was parked nearby but not entered in the show.

Next is a gorgeous little 1960 Morris Minor Estate Wagon: a woody yet! Note the surfboard: not likely an original accessory in England... Nor the left hand drive.

Here's a storied VW van/truck. Apparently imported in rough shape from an adventurous Canadian owner who drove it from Canada to Peru, living in it the whole time. Bars were installed inside the windows to prevent thieves from breaking into the VW while he was sleeping in it! Not a trip that I would be interested in doing, but I sure would like to hear the whole story.

Of course, who wouldn't like a 1962 Corvette?

1958 was the 50th anniversary of the General Motors Co. They celebrated by ushering a whole new design for most of their cars, then added chrome, lots of chrome... This Buick Super, not a top model, was no exception.

Car shows can be polluted with people; sometimes just a section of car is all you can shoot.

This black paint was stunning, and the restoration beautiful. The wheel, tire, disc brakes are all not likely original. Come to think of it, the original shine was probably not as good either.

This is the other end of the same car, a Camaro SS.

Next is an old favourite: a 1949 MG TC that has been restored with a very open check-book. I overheard amounts between $70 to $100 thousand for the restoration. It was a family vehicle since new, and had been much abused by siblings, then abandoned, until one of the sons had the means to fix her up. In my humble opinion, it was over-restored and is now a 'trailer-queen': never driven, just trailered to the occasional show. Pity, it really could be a fun car to drive.

And you're in for a surprise, the grand finale is next: a tricked out Harley. Have a close look by clicking on it, and I'll tell you more after the picture.

As I walked by, I noticed the controls in the side car, I've never seen controls other than radio controls in a side car. After all, you just sit there and pray right?

My next discovery was the badge beside the license: the American Rifle Association. Look around the picture and you'll find ammunition [seat], a machine gun [aimed backwards], a holster with more rifles [between the bike and sidecar], hand-grenades, and other likely causes of mischief. I always though the right to bear arms didn't include making a bike a two-man weapon of mass destruction.

Portugese Man O' War and Other Flotsam

Grayton Beach is just about the whitest and finest beach we've every experienced, or heard about: it does not get much better. The beach is usually very clean and free of flotsam, weeds, shells, or garbage. Most times you'll just find these sea gulls, sunning themselves.

Occasionally, you can find sea weeds and for the last day or two, the purple flag was flying due to Portuguese Man O' War in the water and on the beach. You can read all about these interesting but dangerous creatures here. You really don't want to get stung by their tentacles; it's very painful, I know from experience decades ago.

But first, here's a surface sea snail that actually feeds on the Portuguese Man O' War, and we have a shell for our collection. You can read all about it here. I was mistaken in thinking that the foam spewing from the shell was a form of egg casing: wrong! It's actually a raft to allow the snail to float on the surface of the sea where the Man O' War and other scrumptious delights are to be found. It's really quite a nice shell, this one about the size of a nickel.

Also found on the beach were these limpets [at least that's what I think they are called] attached to the sea weed. This sea weed is actually sargassum and you can read all about the sargasso sea in the middle of the Bermuda triangle here. [at the end of this entry, one could have a lot of new factoids to impress people easily impressed at the next party...]

Back to the main event: Portuguese Man O' War. Here's one floating on the incoming tide. Since they can not control their own propulsion, an incoming tide means they are doomed. Pity the swimmer who disregards the purple flag and gets stung.

Here it is close and personal. If you read the wikipedia entry, you know that this animal is actually four separate beings. During their ride to shore, some parts get separated from the rest, so not all the Man O' War that land are complete. This next one seems to have lost its tentacles, the dangerous part.

The next one has some of its tentacles that can be over ten feet long. Swimmers beware!

Sometimes the tide does wonderful things with these tentacles, I thought these two samples were interesting.

Of course, tides and wind do their thing and the beach can get quite littered with these menaces: their sting potency lasts a few days, even when dead and dry.

And now, a quick question for the grandkids [if they got this far]. Click on the picture to see a larger version if you like.What is this in the next picture and why is it important to watch where you walk?

Eden Gardens State Park 2011

Our annual visit to Eden gardens State Park, where we used to volunteer, never fails to enchant us. The park now has two volunteers that camp on site, and the Friends of eden still have their Tuesday visits with lunch. This year the camelias were pretty well past their prime but the azaleas were probably at their peak. Here are some pink ones.

The rose garden actually had some early bloomers this year: here's a soft pinkish-white beauty.

White azaleas against the foreboding background of the very majestic Virginia Live Oaks.

More azaleas showing the forest of oaks covered in spanish moss.

The Virginia Live Oaks can have horizontal branches that extend more than a hundred feet from the trunk: you really have to see it to understand or believe.

Next is a water fountain we helped install about 5 years ago. Normally, it's still surrounded by Camelias at this time of year but it's been quite hot and dry.

This next majestic Virginia Live Oak has been dated at over 650 years old. These oaks are called live since the new leaves push out the old. By the way, the leaves do not look like any oak leaf we have up north.

The waterfront is away from the mansion, and provides an idilic place for a picnic with a view.

Another of the truly magnificent live oaks.

And yet more oaks, as if planted in the azaleas. What a stunning combination.

And finally, here's a view of the new gates blocking off the original entry to the park.

Hope you enjoyed our visit as much as we did.

A Welcomed Short Visit

Tall Yellow Pine hammocks are becoming rare as developers keep using natural spaces. This hammock at Grayton Beach State Park is still a favourite of mine. I shot this while waiting for the big full moon expected...

This too is a Grayton Beach SP scene. Any wonder we keep coming back?

The big full moon was a bust really: I didn't manage to get a decent exposure of the moon compared to its surroundings. I really should use a tripod...

Next morning, we had breakfast at the Hibiscus B&B where we stay. Next are Kathleen and Joan having a relaxed talk while waiting for the breakfast which was great as usual.

Working off a big breakfast means beach bocce ball. Here's a close-up of one of the many close calls for second place. They are always settled with loads of laughter and a small measuring tape: we do come prepared [Jan's bocce ball set]. Of course, I do the scorekeeping, so my opinion matters, even if the other players don't know about it...

Note that the beach sand at Grayton is like a white powder, likely the best beach anywhere...

Lunch was at the Red Bar; one of those ambiance places that actually has quite good food. Joan and Jan are probably discussing the menu. ... or the next meal.

One last breakfast with Kathleen and Phillip since it's their last hooray.

The new Panama City airport is really convenient: only an hour away, and hardly anybody there. Phillip is doing the electronic sign-in, while Kathleen and Joan look on.

One last check and they're off. Security here was humane, something quite rare at airports nowadays...

... and poof, they're gone.

Family visits always seem to short, but they are a lot of fun. This day and age where families live in scattered quarters of the universe, these visits are sometimes all you get. We always enjoy them and continue hoping for more.

This and That and Stuff

Kathleen and Phillip came for a visit and much fun was had by all, and the blog took a backseat for a while.

We have wood-bees at this time of year. They are the size of bumblebees but behave quite differently. The wood-bee seems curious and approaches you quickly, hovers about one meter away, and just stares. ... probably looking for some suitable wood to lay its eggs. Shooting this one was a bit of a challenge and this is the best shot of the lot, so here it is for grandson Eric.

Almost daily forced marches along the beach are de-rigeur. Fishing on the Gulf often takes this form: bait, cast, plant it in the sand, and walk away...

One of the joys of camping is having a campfire. During Kathleen and Phillip's visit, we roasted [and burned] marshmallows, told stories, laughed a lot. here is Jan checking out a word for Joan [it never stops] on her Android. Who would have imagined Internet access at a State Park campsite, let alone on a phone. What's next?

On Saturday we went to the annual art show now held at Watercolor [sic].

Kathleen and Phillip out of the sun for a breather.

Watercolor is well landscaped and I thought this little family scene quite charming, Mom is probably looking at Jewelry...

One of the repeat artists recycles license plates, or tags as they call them here.

Florida is often referred to as a state of mind. This bike colour scheme tells it all.

After the art show, we moseyed over to Seaside, next door, where they have a strip of Airstream trailers used as fast food outlets. Over the years, these Airstreams have multiplied and have become a part of the Seaside image. By the way, one of these Airstreams has a three digit serial number, that makes it older than me.

Across the street is Modica, a general grocery store that featured heavily in the Truman Show many years ago. Here's a sample of their olive oils...

Across the lawn is a fabulous art shoppe featuring glass. These blown glass items included representations of Jelly Fish in all their splendour. Neat or what. ... and under a thousand each!

A beautiful vase that struck my fancy.

As you can see, we're far from bored and still having lots of fun. More to follow...