A Full-time Life

WILD IRIS ALONG A COUNTRY ROAD

 

Almost all flowers make me smile .... flowers in yards, flowers in public gardens,  flowers in nurseries and greenhouses, flowers in private gardens, even supermarket bouquets, but especially wildflowers.     

There is something very special about flowers that thrive without any attention at all.  There they are --  just adding joy to the world without any help from anybody.

And it is magical to find them unexpectedly.  

So when we stumbled on a whole big field abloom with wild irises last week,  it was a very special occasion indeed.   

 

 

 These were the first "real" spring flowers I've ever seen in Florida.  

Most of the flowers that bloom this season  in the Pacific Northwest (or Northeast for that matter) don't do well in Florida's sub-tropic climate.  I don't know what it was about this field that was different or if there are other places in this state where they bloom and we just haven't learned about it.      

I'm just glad we found these.  

   

 

Every flower was perfectly graceful and perfectly purple!

 

 

 

Except this one which was perfectly white.  And the only white one in the entire field of purple.

 

 

 Sharing the joy with FLOWERS FOR TODAY and I HEART MACRO

 

Thank you to Denise and Laura for hosting these wonderful sharing opportunities. 

 

 

 

KEEPING IN TOUCH ...

... in the time of Corona Virus

 

The first day of Spring in this hemisphere happened last week -- but it was kind of overshadowed by all that other news.   I hope everybody was able to go outside for at least a breath of fresh air.  

 

 

We are using technology to keep in touch during the isolation  -- but for us that really isn't all that different than ever, since we are so far away from family.     Just that it is even more important these days.    

The Blue Jay pictures above are mine -- taken near home (the Florida one) on the first day of Spring.    The rest of the pictures were texted to me from further away  ---   also on the first day of Spring.   I'm grateful that all of our families are well and able to go outside and breath some fresh air.    

The first two below are from Oregon:

 

A Rhododendron  blossom from our daughter and son-in-law's yard.

(in Oregon)

We didn't venture far from home last week.   Nature parks and beaches (and restaurants) are closed here.   We kept busy  -- working on the Canal Cottage project and spending some time assessing our various traveling options in light of the current situation. (Traveling back to our home in Oregon -- nothing more exotic than that needless to say.)

 

 

Cyndi and Jeff's beautiful Black Walnut Tree and the Spring garden under it 

 

The next picture came from our son in Colorado.  Their back yard (taken on, may I remind you, the first day of spring).  It's definitely an outlier among the blue skies and spring flowers:

 

 

 

Colorado people are strong and healthy and happy in all kinds of weather though (aren't they?) --   and anyway, by now, it's highly possible that the snow has melted and the sun is shining.    

My sister sent the next picture from a walk in the park near her Seattle home.    Our oldest son who lives in that corner of Washington State also texted that he  spent the weekend working in their yard.   

 

  

Perfect Spring Days in the Pacific Northwest!  (except for the you-know-what).       As the old song said "The bluest skies you've ever seen are in Seattle" --  it should have added "when it's not raining."    (That is also true for our corner of Oregon .)    

 

(from Oregon) 

Don't forget to keep in touch with those you love. 

And go outside to play as often and as long as you can.

Thank you to our family for essentially writing this post. It would have been a boring blog with just one picture of a Blue Jay.   

 

Linking to the following:  Thank you hosts!!!! 

MOSAIC MONDAY;   ALL SEASONS; THROUGH MY LENS;   OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY;  TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS;  SAY CHEESE;  MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; WILD BIRD Wednesday;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  FRIDAY  BLISS;  SATURDAY CRITTERS;  and RATHER B' BIRDING 

SPRING -- IN FLORIDA and in OREGON

   

This is  a morning sky shot taken from our back porch.   It's beautiful and very quiet on the Canal now.  Most  snowbirds have left Florida for their summer homes.

 

 

We are snowbirds too, but we usually come a little later and stay a little longer than most of our friends.  In the sunshine areas that snowbirds frequent, the six-month  season is usually defined as October through April, with the busiest months being January, February and March.  We usually don't arrive until December.

So during the month of May we like to pretend we're full-time Floridians.  Just like the people who really are, we talk about how thankful we are to get around Fort Myers now that there are fewer cars and fewer people.    (And it really is wonderful.)  The weather is beautiful here now, but I do start to  miss Oregon Springtime a little bit by the end of April.  

So I was delighted when our daughter texted a bunch of photos of their yard.   All of the flowers in the mosaic below are blooming in their Oregon backyard right now: 

   

 

The up-side of staying in Florida during May is that we miss the worst month of the Oregon hay-fever season.  The down-side is that we miss  typical Spring flowers almost completely (it's too hot here for most of them).   So I loved the reminder of Oregon springs.    (I've showed the beautiful big Black Walnut Tree in the center picture often,  because we hang out under it a lot during the summer and fall.  But isn't it beautiful in the Spring?  (I had almost forgotten myself.)     

 

Now back to Florida for some Spring birds: 

 

Woodpeckers are our morning alarm clock these days.  They are fun to see and (usually) to hear.   And they are part of the reason why we know it's Spring.    The temperatures don't seem much different now, but the birds know what season it is and we start to see Spring migrants here, just the same as everywhere else in the Spring.      

 

Ospreys are everywhere ... we ate at the waterfront restaurant on the top left last week -- a farewell dinner with friends on one of their last days here.  When we came out this guy was sitting on a telephone pole directly above where our car was parked.  Every living creature has to eat!  

 

 

This is a view of Fort Myers from the dock of a different waterfront restaurant.  We've been eating out with friends quite a lot lately as people finish up their season.  Making more Florida memories to take home until next season rolls around.     

  

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities:   :  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; MOSAIC MONDAY; ALL SEASONS; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; FLORAL BLISS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; Wednesday AROUND the WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B'BIRDING.

 THANK YOU to all of the wonderful hosts and to everyone who visits!  

 

 

SPRINGTIME IN FLORIDA

     

Spring flowers are different here in the subtropics.  Sometimes I miss daffodils and violets which don't bloom here, but oh the bright and beautiful flowers that do thrive in this climate!  We visited R F Orchids in Homestead last week and what a wonderful flower fix it was.

 

 

 The sign works for me!   

 

 

 

The photos in the  first and last mosaics were all taken in the  outdoor gardens. 

 The close-up shots are of orchids that were blooming in the shade house.

 

 

 

 

It is not necessary in this climate to have a glassed-in greenhouse for these plants.  The shade-house roof was open when we were there, but there were slats for plastic or shade cloth as needed.

 

 

They had very color and type of orchid imaginable. 

 

 

 

The center of this one almost looks as if a butterfly landed there.

 

R F Orchids was  more like a park than a  store. 

Especially for people like us who no longer garden. 

We are lucky  that they didn't charge us for taking pictures. 

 

 

 

   There was even a wedding gazebo and outdoor events center.  

 

It really was a happy place!  

 

 

 Thank you to the hosts of these sharing opportunities.  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY;  NATURE NOTES;  FLORAL BLISS; MACRO MONDAY; Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD; IMAGE-IN-ING; THROUGH MY LENS; SIGNS SIGNS, THANKFUL THURSDAY; FLORAL FRIDAY FOTOS, and SKYWATCH FRIDAY.

 

 

SYMPHONY OF COLOR

 

 

It's a symphony of Autumn color everywhere these days --

IF you can get outside to enjoy it between rain showers.

 

 This week's pictures are from two different days last week -- one in the country (around  our daughter and son-in-law's 'backyard') and the other on a two-mile loop around our downtown home.    

  

Country Gold 

 

Though you might not guess it from the blue sky above their barn, it had poured down rain the night before and it rained again later in the afternoon the same day I took this picture out at Cyndi and Jeff's.    

 

 

 

 (I'm not sure what this sweet flower is, but it is so perfect even this late in the season that it almost doesn't seem real.)  

 

Earlier in the week, on a day when we stayed home, it rained hard all morning but cleared off just in time for a late afternoon walk. 

 

 

 City Gold

 

The sun had come out for its last hurrah --   brushing everything it touched with gold.  

 

I am grateful to have the flexibility to choose my walking time -- especially this time of year -- you never know  when the sun will shine. 

 

 

 Country red

Out in the country again for the picture above --  jumping around for the sake of arranging everything by color tone.   Those are a couple of the blueberry bushes that were so prolific during the summer months.  And are still  beautiful without requiring daily picking.

 

 

 

City pink -- and purple 

 

Some of the home gardens  that I walk past seem to specialize.    One has fall crocuses (croci?) everywhere, one still has roses blooming, and another has a riot of pink and lavender.   The golden flowers in the first collage are both in another yard.  

 

 Even the weeds  are beautiful in Autumn color.   This is a wild blackberry bush.   

 

 Linking this week to:   ALL SEASONS; THE BARN COLLECTIVE; NATURE NOTES; MOSAIC MONDAY; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; THROUGH MY LENS;  FLORAL BLISS;  MACRO MONDAY; Wednesday AROUND the WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY.

 

THANK YOU to all of the hosts.

 

 

 

SATURDAY MARKET

  

We're still transitioning between Summer and Fall here in the Eugene area.  And  that transition is most colorfully showcased at the Eugene Saturday Market.

 

 

   The flower stalls are at least as lush as they were in July.   

 

 

Market produce is a multi-seasonal riot of color and taste.  Tomatoes next to squash, pumpkins next to corn; melons next to peppers, apples next to summer berries.   It's all here this month... and will be until the first freeze (or the middle of November, whichever comes first).   

The fellow in the middle picture is roasting hot or mild peppers which he and his wife sell in freezer bags.... it smells amazing when you walk by .... and they taste wonderful.

 

   

 

 

The Farmer's Market occupies one square block; the craft market across the street is even larger.  I don't often take pictures of the craft booths because it kind of seems like stealing the artisan's ideas.  But I thought the purposefully simple sign on this tie-dyed wares booth was so appropriate I just had to snap.   Real hippies started the market in 1970 and there are still a lot of booths honoring those beginnings.  (And  still a lot of real hippies around here for that matter.)

 

 

 

There is planned entertainment every hour or so on the Market Stage and street corner entertainment everywhere as you approach the Market blocks.   Quality varies, but it's all fun.

 

 

 

 

If you get hungry as you wander around, there are at least two dozen food carts and booths.  Ritta's has been there since the 1970 beginning.

 

  

 

Let's end with a few more flowers, because I have a feeling these may not last too much longer.   This weekend was partly sunny (chilly in the mornings), but the weather report says that cold rains are coming back later this week.  I feel like the flowers may be the first to go --  I'll certainly miss bringing home weekly bouquets. 

 

 

 LINKING to:  ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY;  FLORAL BLISS; WEDNESDAY AROUND THE WORLD; and SIGNS SIGNS. 

 

 Thank you to all of the hosts.

HAPPY FALL 2017

     

Because this is the blog's 10th Anniversary year and the picture is so appropriate for the season, here is a re-run photo used in our very first Full-Time Life post around this time of  year in 2007.    

It was taken  on  our first RV trip to the East Coast (in 2003).  So it was already old when I  used it in that first post.         (We first blogged to keep in touch with family and friends when we spent Spring 2007 in  London.  A while after we came home, I  decided to start another blog about our adventures in this country.)   

     

 

 In most parts of the USA, 'Fall' is the word for the season between Summer and Winter.   I actually prefer to use 'Autumn' .... but 'Fall' is funnier.  

 

   

 

The next two pictures are also old  because we don't have much Autumn color here yet.  The one above is in the Ozark Mountains, on a different trip.

Instead of beautiful colors, the last week of summer here in Eugene brought rain and for that we are beyond grateful.  The moisture has cleared the air of wildfire smoke that permeated the Willamette Valley for much of September.  We hope for continued rain and snow in the mountains because it is needed to  put out all of the fires completely.   I will not even think of complaining about rain this year!   

 

 

 

The marigolds and matching butterfly are also from the Vermont trip.    I could pretend it was more recent, because it could be from an Oregon flower bed -- or lots of other  places -- but we don't believe in fake news or fake pictures around here.

 

Meanwhile,  some  current pictures from here  in Oregon  --  (more current than the above pictures, but not from last week ... because ...   did I mention it's been raining?):

  

 

Out in the country while visiting  our daughter and son-in-law, I took some pictures of Parker -- their big puppy (half  McNab and half Mastiff).    (When we left for Florida in November a year ago, he was a tiny ball of fur.... now at not quite a year old and still growing it's a different story.)    

 

We are  easy to entertain --  the dog and the house birds always provide a show.       (Two different house birds here   -- a couple of house wrens and a house sparrow.)

 

And, in between showers, late summer is great in downtown Eugene:

 

 

The sculpture of Rosa Parks waiting for the bus (and for her place in history) is appropriately situated on the plaza in front  of the Lane Transit District terminal,  just a few blocks from our apartment.  People love to give her flowers -- she is almost always holding a fresh bouquet.  The pictures on the right are flowers (and a few things to eat) purchased at the Saturday Farmer's Market.  

 

 

 

 We don't have to worry about parking,  because the Market is also within very easy walking distance.

 

LINKING  this week to:  

 

OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; ALL SEASONS; THROUGH MY LENS; TUESDAY TREASURES; FLORAL BLISS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; SIGNS SIGNS;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS;    RATHER B' BIRDING and THE BARN COLLECTIVE.

 

 

Thank you to all of the hosts!

 

SIGNS OF SUMMER

   

 

Either the priest or the gardener at this  beautifully landscaped church in Salem has a good sense of humor.   We were there to attend the funeral for Bill's Aunt Rosemary.  This lovely lady, who lived to her late 90s,  was the last remaining member of our parents' generation (on both sides).  Not that there was much doubt before, but we're certainly officially members of the senior generation now.

All of the rest of the pictures in this post are  from walks around the neighborhood here in Eugene.

 

 

  I love hydrangeas in all their colors and all their stages.  It's hard not to stop for pictures when I'm out walking. These are some I've "collected" from different yards all through my walking area

 

 

But even these lush blue bushes can't rescue this poor old house.   I first noticed it when I walked past when we were still here last October.  And at first I thought it was decorated for the Halloween season (the bushes of course were brown and withered then, adding to the haunted appearance). There have been no apparent changes to the structure since last Fall.   Abandoned homes always make me wonder about the story behind them.

 

 

The old house is about six blocks away one direction from our  apartment -- we are right on the edge of an older Eugene neighborhood (mostly with well-kept homes -- the one above is an exception).  

But when we walk the other way, we are in the middle of downtown.    We strolled around on the  First Friday Art Walk, listening to music and looking at some of the street art.  

 

 

It was hot though, so we spent most of the evening in an air-conditioned theater watching an Instant Ballet (the dancers, members of the Eugene Ballet Company,  take suggestions from the audience to put together a ballet based on a pre-determined theme and music.  

 

 

 

 The City installed this colorful piano in the middle of one downtown block.   It gets a lot of use.   Sometimes you get a concert.  And then there are the other times  ....    

 

 

 

 Eugene might be the only place in the world that would have this sign on the front of a City Bus.    We like it!

 

 

 Linking this week  to:  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; ALL SEASONS;  NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS;  MACRO MONDAY; FLORAL BLISS; TUESDAY TREASURES; and SIGNS SIGNS 

 THANK YOU to all of the hosts.

QUEEN ANNE'S LACE

Free for the taking, Queen Anne's lace marches in neat rows along our country road almost as if it had been planted.  

 

 

But this is a wildflower -- or a weed -- I'm never quite sure how to tell the difference.  At any rate, I don't have to feel guilty about (photo) 'stealing' these beauties from any of our neighbors.  They really are free for the taking.   

 

 

 

Easy to overlook, because they are so common -- just so 'always there.'  But see how delicate they are when you look closely.    This is the underneath side.

A reminder that even if  the sky is a bit gray and the birds refuse to pose (or even to show up) there is still always something lovely to see on a morning nature walk.

 

LINKING TO:  Denise's TODAY'S FLOWERS; to  MACRO MONDAY, hosted by Gemma and Magical Mystery Teacher; to Laura's I HEART MACRO; to Judith's MOSAIC MONDAY; and to Monica's (Nature Footstep) DIGITAL ART.   Thank you ladies for these fun memes.

MORNING SHOTS

 

 

 

Back on the left coast and delighted to be here!   We arrived just in time to celebrate Independence Day  with some of the family.  But as usual I have no people pictures.  Too busy catching up. 

 

We're in full summer mode here -- it was hot on the Fourth -- and it is too dry, especially for the Pacific Northwest.  Even so, many of the tiny yards here in our RV resort are full of seasonal color.

 

Today the weather is more like what we've looked forward to -- in the 70s with some sunshine.    No matter what the temperature, we would be happy to be here where we can visit family and old friends. 

But it is an added bonus to be able to open windows and turn off the AC.    

 

 

 And it was definitely an added bonus to see this Western Grebe family out on the Lake early this morning.  Mother was taking turns giving her two babies a piggy-back ride.  Highly cropped obviously -- I hope I'll be able to get a closer view before the little ones don't need her any more!

 

 

LINKED TO:  MOSAIC MONDAY;  OUR WORLD on TUESDAY;  WEDNESDAY WATERS;  and  WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY.

 

Thanks to all of the wonderful hosts.   It's good to be back  ... and to again have time to visit blog friends.  

 

FLOWERS FROM THE SUNSHINE STATE

 

It has been a while since I shared flowers and plants.  Here are some varieties blooming in SW Florida in late Spring (where it actually feels like mid-summer).

 

 

 All of these pictures were taken in residential neighborhoods where we walked recently.  

As does everyone, I know that the tree above is a variety of palm, but unfortunately that is the only thing I know about any of these pictures.   

   

 

 This looks like a type of magnolia, but I couldn't find a similar picture, even though I searched Google Images.  

 

 

Probably I wasn't patient enough.   Note:  Thanks to Theresa, Ellen, and Peter B who identified this as a Plumeria tree after I posted  to Today's Flowers.  Once again, I learn so much from fellow bloggers; it is appreciated.  But I also appreciate those  who told me it was fine to not know -- to just to appreciate the beauty! 

 

 

 When we walk in pretty residential neighborhoods, there is never anybody out in the yard.  If the homeowners were around, I would ask whether I could take a picture and what the tree or bush was.  But they are always too busy working during the weekdays when we're out and about.    So I just take the picture.

 

 

 

This tree was blooming in April on Fort Myers Beach.  All of the other pictures were this month in Sanibel.

 

 

Sharing with:  TODAY'S FLOWERS; NATURE NOTES; I HEART MACRO; MONDAY MACRO; and NF TREES & BUSHES.  

Thank you to  Denise,  Michelle,  Laura,  Gemma and Monica for hosting.

SPRING RE-RUNS, 2015

 

Royal Poinciana trees are in bloom this month in Southwest Florida.  The blossoms looked gorgeous on a blue-sky morning early this week.

 

 

 

They are such beautiful trees -- I know  I've blogged about them every year since we've lived here, but really these trees are lovely enough to deserve a repeat.  

  

 

The Night-Blooming Cactus is another late Spring flower around these parts.  And once more, the flower and the picture are this year's, but I have posted other pictures of this beauty in previous years.

 

 

 

 

 Here are a few more shots of the Poinciana.  Its beauty makes up for a lot of the more usual Spring flowers that we miss by being in Florida this season.   Even the seed pods of this tree are incredible -- they're about a foot long.  There are a couple still hanging on in the picture on the lower left.  

I've often said that Southwest Florida flowers are almost all the showy type.  No shrinking violets (or daffodils or tulips) here.   And in fact, another name for the Royal Poinciana is "Flamboyant Tree."      A fitting name for this show-off.  

 

 

Linking to:  TODAY'S FLOWERS (thank you Denise); I HEART MACRO (thanks to Laura); and MONDAY MACRO (thank you Gemma).  

EXCITED FOR SPRING

 

 This sign caught our eyes as we drove past recently.  

Couldn't stop that day but ... 

 

 

... fortunately it was still there a couple of days later when I had more time.  The sign was good for a laugh and the  Garden Center was, of course, also perfect for a quick  'flower-fix'  stroll.    

 

There weren't really any typical Spring flowers to get excited about.   (This is SW Florida after all and Spring is different here.)  

 

 

But the pretty hibiscus are exciting in their own way.   And I found another great sign. 

 

 All photos taken last week at Bayshore Garden Center, North Fort Myers Florida.

THIS POST IS LINKED to the Blogging Communities at SIGNS SIGNS (thanks to Lesley);  GOOD FENCES (thanks Theresa);  TODAY'S FLOWERS (thanks to Denise); I HEART MACRO (thank you Laura); and MONDAY MACRO (thanks Gemma).

GROWING SEASON

 

 Harvest season has already begun here in Southwest Florida.

 

 

 Is it any wonder that those of us who hail from cooler climates sometimes forget what month it is?   

(For those of you who are still dreaming of spring -- remember that when you are harvesting your vegetables late next summer,  all the garden crops here in Florida will be over and done with because of the summer heat.)

 

Here's some of what came back to the Canal Cottage with me after last week's visit to the neighborhood Farmer's Market.   (Those fields in the first mosaic are from the market farm.) 

It was Rainbow Chard Crustless Quiche and sliced tomatoes for supper.  

And it's pretty much strawberries morning, noon, and night around here these days!

 

 

Linking to Judith's MOSAIC MONDAY and to OUR WORLD TUESDAY (Arija, Gattina, Sandy, Sylvia, Jennifer and Lady Fi).   Thanks to all of you!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ORCHIDS IN TREES and TREES OF ORCHIDS

 

 The day after we saw the Orchid trees in Cape Coral (this post from last week), we noticed these orchids blooming in a neighbor's yard.  These are genuine hothouse orchids (the kind you had in your senior prom corsage -- if you were lucky).  

 

 

 

So this isn't an orchid tree, but an orchid in a tree... a Florida (and small home) version of a houseplant.  Our neighbors grow them in a basket wired to the tree (no greenhouse needed in this climate).

Along with couple of comments on last week's post, seeing both kinds of 'orchid trees' awakened my lazy mind enough to do a little tiny bit of research.  The Orchid Tree (from last week) is actually called the Hong-Kong Orchid Tree.  It is described as having orchid-like blossoms.  

(The scientific name of that tree is Bauhina Blakeana.)   

 --------------

 

Orchids like these today (and the many many other colors and varieties) belong to a family group called "orhidaceae" -- so no relation to the Orchid Tree.

    

 

So now I know the difference.    But also suspect I'll soon forget all these scientific facts and revert to simply knowing that both kinds make me smile.  

 

Sharing with Denise's  TODAY'S FLOWERS;  Judith's MOSAIC MONDAY; Laura's I HEART MACRO;  Gemma's MONDAY MACRO;  Michelle's NATURE NOTES; and OUR WORLD  Tuesday (brought to us by Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sandy, and Sylvia).   Thank you to all.

ORCHID TREE

  

Orchid Trees are in their full glory this month.   

 

 

This row of trees is part of the landscaping at Cape Harbor Marina in Cape Coral.  It's just down the road from where we live (or in this case, down the River -- we were there for a Boat Club lunch earlier this month).

  

 

 

 The guys talk boats and fuel up boats.  

The ladies walk about and shop and take pictures.

We all eat! 

Life is good.

 

Linking to:  TODAY'S FLOWERS (thank you Denise); I HEART MACRO (thanks to Laura); MACRO MONDAY (thanks to Gemma) and MOSAIC MONDAY (thank you Judith).  

FLORIDA IN JANUARY

 

Sights we didn't see in January when we lived on the other side of the country:

 

 

 Butterflies on bright red blossoms.    

 

 

Mangrove swamps and ibis  and live oaks with dripping Spanish moss .  

 

 

 Manatees swimming under blue skies...

 

 

... and, well, blue skies period!

 

Sharing with:   SKYWATCH FRIDAY (thanks to Yogi, Sandy, and Sylvia), SCENIC WEEKENDS (thank you Gemma),  and TODAY'S FLOWERS (thanks to Denise).

 

 

 

 

 

PERFECT IN PINK

 

 

 

 Beautiful amaryllis were among the exotic plants blooming profusely on the day after Christmas.  We were visiting Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales Florida.

   

 

 

Camellias in many shades and poinsiettas in pink and red graced the grounds.

 

 

 This peppermint candy camellia was perfect for the season -- and for the honeybee, who is lucky to live where the weather is spring-like in late December.  (We think we are lucky too.)

 

 SHARING these Florida seasonal flowers with FLOWERS FOR TODAY and with  I HEART MACRO and with MACRO MONDAY.  Thank you to Denise,  Laura, and Gemma  for their generosity in bringing us these lovely opportunities to share.

 

BOK TOWER AND GARDENS

We visited Bok Tower and Gardens in Lake Wales on the day after Christmas.  (Still on our quest to explore as much of Florida as we can.)   Below are views of the beautiful bromelid tree in the visitor center.  These pictures are all from the tree, but similar bromelids were blooming in the gardens.  It amazes me to see "houseplants" blooming profusely outdoors.

 

 

 Bok Tower is a  beautiful bell tower built on the summit of Iron "Mountain" which is the highest peak in peninsular Florida.   High elevation in these parts is NOT very (it is only 298 feet above sea level).   After spending the summer and fall in Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and Colorado we must admit to being a bit underimpressed with the altitude. 

 But the singing tower was lovely to see -- and hear.  I wish we could have recorded the carrilon music that we heard.  We arrived just as the first of two live concerts began.  Mechanical keyboards play every half hour and then, while we were eating lunch at the Visitor Center cafe, we heard the second live concert of the day.  (The music can be heard throughout the grounds.)

 

 

 

 The Singing Tower and gardens were a gift to the American people from publisher, author and philanthropist Edward R Bok.  The Tower is a National Historic Landmark.  

Mr Bok emigrated to America as a child.  When he and his parents left the Netherlands, his grandmother charged him to make his new country more beautiful because he had lived in it.  When the tower was dedicated, Mr Bok said he wanted to follow her long-ago advice by making a place where people could find and enjoy beauty and serenity.  (Link here to read what  else Wiki tells us about his interesting life.)

 

 

 The tower is built of pink and gray marble quarried in Georgia and coquina (a sedimentary rock mostly made up of seashells) from Florida.  The tile work depicts birds, wildlife, and figures from myths.  It was opened to the public in February 1929 and dedicated by then-President Calvin Coolidge. 

 

 

 

The tower, with its surrounding moat, is the centerpiece of the 200-acre tower gardens.  I will show more from the gardens in a later post.

 

Sharing these views and blooms with Judith's  MOSAIC MONDAY ; and  OUR WORLD on Tuesday (hosted by Lady Fi, Sylvia, Sandy, Gattina, Arija, and Jen) ; and Nature Footsteps  BLO -MA.   Thank you to all the hosts!

 

 

A MUSHROOMING POPULATION

 

 

Nature has reclaimed the abandoned town of Dyea Alaska,  once a major port for Klondike goldrush travel.   Mushrooms and other fungi thrive where storekeepers once sold supplies to stampeders.

 

 

The area is now owned by the National Park Service; some historical artifacts and ruins can be seen on a self-guided walk.  Even better, the reclaimed forest was a quiet and beautiful place for a long nature walk -- a perfect day trip to escape from the touristy city of Skagway, where we were staying.

 

 

 At the time of the goldrush, this area was a grassland and the forest is not yet mature ... the process known as plant succession is underway here.  As it matures, spruce, hemlock, and cottonwood trees will  give way to the shade-tolerant western hemlock.

At its present stage, the forest-floor provides the perfect home for mushrooms and fungi.  So many varieties that we lost count.   (But I think we got pictures of most of them.)

 

 

 Magical mushroom, I'm sure.

 

 

Fungi on parade.

 

 

 Broken but still beautiful.

 

Linking this post to Laura's I HEART MACRO; to Judith's MOSAIC MONDAY; and to Michelle's NATURE NOTES.  

Thank you to each of these lovely ladies for giving us these opportunities to share and learn.

MIXED BOUQUET (flashback to last spring)

 Note:  I wrote this post in late May just before we left for our Alaska trip, but was not able to post it.  These flowers are   too pretty to forget, so here's a flashback to late Spring in our daughter and son-in-law's yard.  

 We had a short time to visit with our kids in May -- much earlier than we usually arrive back in the Pacific Northwest.  It was a wonderful time for flowers.  Some late Spring blooms were at their peak (like the pink rhododendron and the iris that I posted earlier.)  And  a few  summer  flowers were already showing their colors as well.

This whole bouquet of pictures was "gathered"  on the first May day we spent with  our daughter and son-in-law in their yard.

  

 Peonies ready to burst into bloom, shy forget-me-nots, rosebuds, orange poppies, red  and lavender rhododendrons, columbine,  and California poppies .  

The California poppies were abundant not only in their yard, but all over the area. We never used to see them here when we lived in Oregon -- like a lot of  people from the next state south, I guess they decided to migrate to Oregon (maybe they too were tired of all the traffic and smog.)  

 On a camping trip to California many years ago, we looked and looked for this flower and never even saw a one.   I can't remember if we were too early or too late or if it was just a bad year for them.  

They may be more common now, but they were still a welcome sight.

 

 

POSTING TO:  TODAY'S FLOWERS  (thank you Denise),  MOSAIC MONDAY (thank you to Judith), and (next Tuesday) to NF BLO-MA (thank you).

 

 

THE CORPSE FLOWER

 

We visited Seattle's Volunteer Park Conservatory earlier this month while   spending a lovely day with our brother-in-law and  sister  (mine, but after more than 57 years together, it all kind of blends together).  

 

 

There were some beautiful orchids and ferns.  But we really went to see the Corpse Flower.  This odd -- and rare -- plant  bloomed in early September for the first time since the Conservatory acquired it in 2006.   (It takes from seven to 10 years for the plant to make a flower.)

 

 

The Corpse flower (Amorphophallus Titanum) was discovered in Sumatra in 1881.  It grows from a large tuber which can weigh more than 150 pounds.  It is said to be the world's largest flower.  Technically it is an 'inflorescence' or a cluster of flowers.  

All of the above information is from the Conservatory.  The information sheet also said "Yes, the flower does smell --  like rotting flesh."  --  But we didn't need the handout to know that.  It smelled awful!

I hate to end a post on a stinky note, so below is just one of the beautiful orchids grown in the Conservatory.  I'm sorry that I don't have any information about it.  

 

Linking this post to TODAY'S FLOWERS and I HEART MACRO. and NATURE'S FOTOS BLO-MA (on Tuesday).   Thank you to Denise and to Laura and to Monica for hosting these wonderful sharing opportunities.

 

FIREWEED

Fireweed is a  tall beautifully-colored wildflower that is blooming prolifically in fields and along roadsides wherever we've been in Alaska so far.  

It is lovely to see masses of these magenta flowers as you walk or drive along.   

 

 

Fireweed is known as Alaska's Summer Clock.   Local wisdom says that once the fireweed blooms to the top of the stalk,  summer is over and it is only a few more weeks until the long winter sets in.   

 

 

Believe me, we are keeping a  close eye on it! 

 

Here are a few more beautiful Alaska wildflowers.   We've enjoyed these lovely color spots as we travel in the state and, for year-round Alaskans, I would imagine they are even more welcome after a long cold winter. 

 

 

I'm planning to link this post* to TODAY'S FLOWERS AND NF BLO-MA.  Thank you to Denise and the TF team and to Monica for hosting Blo-Ma.  

(*if travel and internet connections cooperate)

LILACS IN JUNE

 

 

We have learned that there is a way to see typical early Spring flowers even if during that season you are in Florida where it is too hot for them.  

And even if you don't arrive for a summer visit with your kids in Oregon until mid-May, when the earliest spring blooms have faded.

 

 

The way you do it is to arrive in Seward Alaska in mid-June.  Spring has barely begun here.  It has been years since we've seen lilacs.  I wanted to bottle their wonderful scent.

 

 

Flower gardens were certainly not our primary reason for traveling to Alaska but aren't these beauties a nice bonus?

 

 

FOR: NATURE'S PHOTOS BLO-MA,  TODAY'S FLOWERS and MOSAIC MONDAY.  Thank you Monica, Denise and Mary.

 

A WISH

I am also linking this post to OUR WORLD because it seems appropriate for the week.

 Remembering happier weeks and days.... 

Each flower is a wish for a safe and joyful world someday ...

 

... for everyone.

 

New arrangements of old pictures for Mary's  MOSAIC MONDAY and Nature Footsteps BLO-MA 

FALSE SPRING - REAL GIFT

We almost never see early Spring flowers, at least the kind that grow in moderate climates, because at that time of the year we're still in Florida  -- where all the blooms are the more flamboyant kind.  

 

But this year, November in Oregon gave us a going-away gift.  The weather there was strange   --  warmer Autumn temperatures than usual in addition to the normal rains.    

  Buds were beginning to unfurl on a couple of the rhododendron bushes in our son-in-law and daughter's yard.  And there were catkins on the pussy willow bushes.

In the more typical seasonal scene below, on the same day I took the flower pictures  our daughter was outside raking the black walnut leaves.

 

   (I helped by taking her picture.)  

 

 It is a little worrisome to think what will happen if there's a hard freeze later-- and there probably will be.  After all winter hasn't even really started yet.  (We're in Florida for the rest of the season, so we'll  only know the fate of these lovely flowers when we hear from the leaf raker!)   

 

Thanks to Nick at FLORAL FRIDAY FOTOS and Denice at TODAY'S FLOWERS  on Sunday

COLEUS

 

 Not flowers exactly, but coleus leaves  are bright and colorful,

and that's close enough for me....

Especially this time of year.

 

Linked to FLORAL FRIDAY FOTOS  (thank you Nick) and to TODAY'S FLOWERS  (thank you  Denice).  Visit.  Click.

NIGHT BLOOMING CACTUS

FOR FLORAL FRIDAY FOTOS.  Visit, click, feast your eyes.   

 

Still showing off at 7:30 in the morning.

 

This plant is growing across the street from our cottage so I don't have to get up real early to see it before it retires for the day.  

 

 

Thanks to Nick for hosting FFF!

FLOATING FLOWERS

 

For FLORAL FRIDAY FOTOS .   Click, get your flower fix!   Thank you Nick.

  

 

In the Everglades, flowers don't seem to grow so much as they seem to float. 

  

 

 If not on the water, like the two above, then they almost seem to float in the air, as the plant below:

 

 

This plant is attached to the cypress tree.  Air plants grow everywhere  around here.   They are epiphytes -- plants that grow on other plants (usually trees, but we've seen them on telephone wires.)  They are not parasites, but get nourishment and nutrients from the air and rain.  

ANOTHER UNKNOWN *** (PURPLE ORCHID TREE)

FOR FLORAL FRIDAY FOTOS  AND TODAY'S FLOWERS

***ADDED after Friday's post:  Thank you to Nick (host of Floral Friday Fotos) who identified the flower.  Here's a copy of his comment with a link to his source (and also click on Nick's name for a link to his excellent main blog):  

Sallie, this looks like a Bauhinia purpurea or "Orchid Tree". See: 
http://www.exotic-plants.de/seeds/trees/Bauhinia-purpurea-purple-orchid-tree.php

 Posted by: Nick | March 15, 2012 at 03:04 PM

 Yet another Florida flower whose name I don't know. (All help welcomed!)    It is a vine and is growing in only one yard here in the RV Park.      Nobody I have talked to knows what it is.  But we all think its lovely.   

 

 

 

HAPPINESS IS....

Sometimes OUR WORLD isn't about new and different adventures, but about the little joys of everyday life!  

 Daffodils just make me happy!  There's no getting around it.   

We went to a different grocery store this week and Bill found bunches of "field daffodils"  in the floral section.  In Florida they are an exotic species -- this was definitely not buying local.  

But it was worth it.  Because there's a lifetime of memories associated with these golden beauties.   

 

  Thank you to the hosts of Our World.  

FLORAL ARRANGING 201

THIS POST is linked to FLORAL FRIDAY (hosted by Nick -- thank you!)  MOSAIC MONDAY (thank you Mary)  and RUBY TUESDAY.(now hosted by Gemma and Magical Mystery Teacher.  Thank you!!)

This is the time of year when I start to miss Spring flowers --  so it's time to play with the flowers we do have.   

The tradeoff for no Winter (as we used to know it) is no Spring.  So we don't have pussy willows or daffodils or violets or tulips.  Or really any of the Spring flowers we used to grow (or at least see) back in our other life.   

Florida flowers are more lush.  Show-offs really.  

 

But they're showing off under that blue sky you can see in some of these pictures.  So we think it's a pretty good tradeoff!

 

No flowers were harmed in arranging and re-arranging these Florida beauties.   

(ALMOST) A DOZEN ROSES

FOR FEBRUARY 14 NOW and linking now to  FLORAL FRIDAY FOTOS .   Thanks for hosting Nick!

 

 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

 

RAINDROPS ON ROSES

FOR MELLOW YELLOW MONDAY

 

 Last month I titled a post "The Last Rose of Summer."  There had already been some grey, chilly days and it seemed certain that a frost wasn't too far off.  But it warmed up -- and September wasn't the end of summer after all, at least for the roses.  

Last week, Cyndi and I took walk through the Owens Rose Garden in Eugene.  While the blooms weren't as profuse as they would have been if we'd made it earlier in the season, there were still plenty of beauties. 

 

Sunshine after a night of rain was a treat for us ... and for the roses!

WHAT IS IT?

LINKED TO  RUBY TUESDAY.  Click the link to see red!    Thank you Mary.

Any guesses what fruit this is?

 
It looked good enough to pick for your salad (and maybe it is; I've heard they are edible.). 

   
These were the prettiest rose hips I've ever seen.  They were blooming on a hedge of wild roses, also at the recycling facility.

THE GARDEN AT BRING

This post is linked to MELLOW YELLOW MONDAY.  Thanks!

 

All these sunny flowers were blooming last Sunday in the garden at Bring Recycling Center in Eugene.  In the lower right corner you can see a portion of the fencing made from recycled materials. 

TRANSITION

FOR OUR WORLD hosted by these five wonderful bloggers:  Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia, and Sandy.   Thank you ladies!

It's a between-season time out here in the RV Park near the wetlands.   Most of the summer flowers (wild and tame) are gone, but there's not much Fall color yet.  It's still sunny most days after cool foggy mornings. 

   

Wildflowers are ghosts of their former selves.  Cattails (which would be perfect for Autumn arrangements) have already gone to seed.  A week of hot weather did them in. 

The good local apples haven't appeared at the Farmer's Market yet, but abandoned old trees out along the street where we walk to the wetlands have fruit.   (These apples might be OK to make applesauce out of, if you were careful.  But because the trees aren't cared for, the fruit isn't good to eat out-of-hand.)  

These trees are survivors  -- planted years ago when people used to farm this wetland area.   Before the flood-control reservoir was built.

School started a couple of weeks ago, and while Autumn hasn't quite officially begun in this hemisphere, it always feels like Fall as soon as those yellow buses start appearing on our country road  -- -- even for those of us who are years and years past living on a school schedule.   

 

LAST ROSES OF SUMMER

FOR RUBY TUESDAY hosted by Mary at Work of the Poet.

 
 
Although it is almost officially Autum, the roses are hanging in there.  That's about it as far as flowers go -- the Fall color really isn't here yet and the other summer flowers are looking timeworn.

 

  This one is is a flower memory from earlier this summer.  Our two great-grandsons (and their mother) were here visiting their grandparents -- (our daughter and son-in-law).   (Here's the earlier post.)

The not-quite-two-year-old loved this flower.  At that point, he only had the important things in his vocabulary (his big brother's name, mom, dad, dog, football, grandma and grandpa, and, of course, no.)  But he was fascinated by the pink and blue hydrangea and, with the help of his grandmother,  added that word to his vocabulary.  It was fun hearing his baby version of this big word and knowing it meant that he'd be talking in paragraphs very soon.  (His mom tells us that he is now.)

 *DISCLAIMER:  The grandmother who taught him to say the new word was our daughter, not me!  (Bill and I are both called GG!)

 

IMAGINE

 

 
 "Imagine all the people living life in peace." 

 

 September 11, 2011  TODAY'S FLOWERS

John Lennon's "Imagine"  Click for link to the full lyrics and link to video.

 

ONE OF THESE IS NOT LIKE THE OTHERS

Visit TODAY'S FLOWERS.  

Our kids and grandkids used to enjoy gathering bouquets of wildflowers.

And now our great-grands do.  And so do I.  But I have a different method of gathering.

Here's a bouquet of (mostly) white ones from a recent stroll down the country road.

 

 

INDIAN PAINTBRUSH

This reddest of all the red wildflowers was a welcome roadside find on our summer roadtrip.   Linked to RUBY TUESDAY.

 

 

PRETTY POISON?

 FOR MELLOW YELLOW  MONDAY. (Definitely yellow, maybe not so mellow.)

   

This bright yellow wildflower (weed?) is growing in several spots along Jeans Road.  We didn't remember seeing it when we've stayed here in previous summers.  And lo and behold the local section of this morning's paper has an article about how TANSY RAGWORT is making a comeback in the area.  It's a weed that is lethal to horses and cattle and it was thought to have been eradicated.  Here's a link to the article and picture, which looks just about exactly the same as the one I took.  So although I thought I was going to post about the pretty little pools of sunshine growing along the side of the road, instead I am posting about a pretty poison.   

 

 

But the bees don't know it's dangerous.   

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

MAGNOLIA

FOR WEEKEND IN BLACK AND WHITE

 

We drove past the house we used to own the other day.  I'm glad we don't own it any longer, but I still want to check up on it whenever we're in the area.  (Are we the only ones who do that?)

When we first looked at the house, in 1971, we were entranced by the big beautiful Grandiflora Magnolia Tree in the front yard.   I wanted that house before we ever set foot inside.  It was a good thing that the rest of it met our needs!

The house has changed a lot since then, but the Magnolia Tree is still there and still as beautiful as ever.    I jumped out of the car for a quick picture and a quick fix of its beautiful fragrance. 

JEANS ROAD RAMBLE

That's My World

 

The dogwood trees along Jeans Road have been especially beautiful this summer. 

And as a fallen-away, non-practicing gardener, I am grateful for the dedication of these RV-Park neighbors. 

  

For more views of the world as people from all over know it, click the That's My World links.

 And join me in thanking the hosts for bring us this opportunity every week.



 

BUTTERCUPS ON A BUSH

FOR MELLOW YELLOW MONDAY.

 

 

When we're staying at Fern Ridge Shores, Jeans Road is the "default" daily walk. I never get tired of it. 

Between the wetlands and Lake on one side of the road and more wetlands and a few country homes on the other,  there's something new to see every day.  

One yard has a few of these plants.  I call them buttercup bushes -- I don't know what the real name is. 

They're a little straggly now (they were prettier when we first got here), but I love them because each individual flower looks like a giant buttercup.

 

 

 

FLYING FLOWERS

LINKED TO SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY  AND TODAY'S FLOWERS.

 

 
 

Taken during our visit with the kids in Colorado.  I was resting and admiring the wildflowers as Lisa hiked ahead on a trail at Hall Ranch near Lyons. 

I knew my legs needed a rest, but I thought my eyes must really be tired too when it seemed like part of the flower I was looking at just upped and flew away. 

Luckily, the flying part landed again a few seconds later so that I could get these pictures.

 

SPRING FLOWERS

SHARED WITH MELLOW YELLOW MONDAY     and     RUBY TUESDAY

Spring flowers are in bloom in Colorado!  It's great to be here to enjoy them.  We saw the yellow iris and red poppy at Benson Park.

 

 

 

ROYAL POINCIANA

  FOR THAT'S MY WORLD  Go visit it!  and RUBY TUESDAY at Mary's. 

 

The Royal Poinciana trees are just starting to flower.   They aren't in full beautiful bloom yet but I'm so in love with this tree I couldn't wait to share.  And the seed pods are interesting at this stage.

Here's one that's a little further along, probably because it's warmer beside the building. 

We posted a picture of this tree in late May last year -- click here . 

We didn't know its name then, but have since learned.     It's also called the Flame Tree or Flamboyant Tree and it is easy to see why. 

By the end of this month the trees should all be in full bloom -- the ones planted in more open spaces will make a better picture because of the beautiful contrast with Florida's blue sky. 

FLOWER FIX

 

 

                                                       

A recent visit to the local garden center was a great way to get a flower fix for the week.

 

(It's a good thing there's no charge for looking and taking pictures.)

We don't have space for outdoor plants here -- and pretty much the only way I can keep houseplants alive is through pictures like this one.

 

 

Spring flowers here in Florida are far more flamboyant than those we'd see if we were in Oregon (where we did do some gardening years ago).

 

 

    

The quieter spring flowers -- violets, primroses, even daffodils and tulips -- don't grow here and we miss them.  The potted African violets reminded me of the little purple ones that used to grow wild in our Oregon yard (and still do at our kids' place).

 

 

THIS POST IS LINKED TO TODAY'S FLOWERS. 

 

 



MEMORIES OF SPRING -- IN OREGON

FOR RUBY TUESDAY, enjoy these Oregon memories with us.  And visit Mary's lovely meme to click on more bright and cheerful reds.

 

We don't usually visit Oregon until late Summer or Fall and so we miss the Spring flowers.  Of course we have flowers in Florida, lots of them, but not the same ones.  These pictures, from our daughter and son-in-law's gardens, were taken in April 2007, the one year lately that we were there while Spring flowers were in full bloom.     Enjoy the memories with us.

 

 

 

  Isn't it nice of Cyndi and Jeff to do all the work while we just enjoy?  They both have great green thumbs, much better than we had when we lived in Oregon. 

 

CREPE MYRTLE

Linking this post to Ruby Tuesday.  Click on the underlined link below and then on the links!  http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/2010/08/ruby-tuesday_30.html

 We have seen these lovely trees called Crepe Myrtles blooming everywhere from South Carolina up through Virginia.     

 

We'd never seen these trees before.  Some Southern flowers do quite well in Oregon, even if they bloom at a different time of year (magnolias, rhodys) -- but these must need more heat.  Even though it's been so hot, these trees don't look like they're suffering at all.