B-ball and Orchids

This afternoon we went to Gators Dockside in Ocoee to watch The Game. Calvin lost to Hope -- again -- but the best part of the afternoon was finding Ed and Ginny Ubels, who were at Calvin when we were in the early '70s. Ed works at Wycliffe and Ginny is a music teacher in an Orange County elementary school. Interestingly, they just started attending First Pres, where we teach. We got caught up with jobs, family, and acquaintences and found out that they have many similar interests.

I think the caption on the picture of Ginny, Ed, and Gayle should be, "Man, those wings are HOT!"

In other news, we have 5 orchids blooming and 2 more within days of blooming. This picture is a cattleya named Gertrude Hausermann. It's bloom is as big across as my hand, and it has a delicate scent.

Completion

Now that we've enjoyed cooler weather for a while, Gayle was able to finish the quilt hanging that we had intended to use in our bathroom. The summer was just too hot for GB to have all of that quilt on her lap! We hung the quilt yesterday. It's a 9 footer, but fits well with the high ceiling. The colors compliment the room and nicely set off the shower/tub area from the rest of the room. Cool beans, huh?

We Thought We Were Back in Michigan!

...but then the sun came back out. Yes, we actually had 2 1/2 days of overcast skies. The sun did come out for a while this afternoon and I went for a bike ride. Had to take advantage of the good weather; later today we have thunderstorms forecast. We will be much cooler and windy tomorrow before we get back to the more normal January temps of highs in the 70's.

I finished repairing / replacing the two gates on the west side of the house. I borrowed a neighbor's pickup truck, got a 4'x8' sheet of white plastic lattice (no rot this time!) and installed it last Saturday. I raised the bottoms of the gates for clearance so they swing well clear of the ground. Yes, I have to paint the treated lumber yet.

We have had ant problems lately. We have these little black ants, less than 1/8" long, that are all around the perimeter of our house. I've even had them in some of my plant pots. Had a nest in an orchid pot in the lattice house and also in a hanging orchid and my staghorn fern, both hanging from the oak in the back yard. I sprayed the house perimeter with Sevin this morning, and I'll give it another shot next Saturday. I don't like to use such powerful, potent insecticides but enough is enough! Too many ant caravans running around the house for dozens of feet. Or thousands, if you count all the little ant feet...

Both of our camellias are full of blooms right now. The Pink Perfection in the front is particularly eye-catching. And right next to it is the red hibiscus, which blooms all year round. We also have a cattleya orchid blooming -- three wonderful flowers with a remarkable creamy lime (limey cream?)with purple. Spectacular! I had to wait until today to take some pictures outside so I could catch this unusual color.

Woo Hoo!

Finished the gates, mulched the new plantings -- both red cedar and the two bamboos, and did some bush trimming. And watched the Packers beat the Seahawks 42 - 20 in the snow at Lambeau Field! Double woo hoo! I wore my new Favre jersey for the game. Thank you, Elliott Hammond, for a great Christmas present!

Great Week-end

I finished the two new gates on the west side of the house...actually, I have to get a sheet of lattice yet and screw some to each of the gate fronts, but we're close. Gayle got a small red cedar from her kids, and it was loaded with cards and gifts. She took the goodies off and we planted it next to our bathroom window. We drove out to Groveland Friday afternoon; it's about 30 miles west of Orlando. There was a bamboo nursery there and I had my eye on a variety to replace the palm tree I had cut down. This nursery was about 15 acres and neatly put together. When we got on site, I had the feeling that there was a whole 'nother area of plant life that was waiting for me! I was looking for a clumping bamboo called Black Timor. It has black culms and gets 45 ft tall. The proprietor, a woman, asked some questions about the space we had, what our yard was like, and the led us on a tour of a number of bamboo varieties. She explained the pros and cons of each and steered us to a number of more upright varieties -- one was the Black Timor. Gayle caught a glimpse of a yellow variety with a green stripe called Asian Lemon. So we got one of each, Black Timor and Asian Lemon. The Asian Lemon gets about 25 ft high and grows quickly. The Black Timor is a slower grower and is somewhat sensitive to cold. All in all, I think we have a good combination of bamboo for a small back yard.

Saturday we took a trip on the bike with three friends. We left at 7 AM and rode north to Orange City and Blue Spring State Park. Because of the cool weather the previous few days, the manatees were back in numbers; we saw over 50 in the spring's waters. We rode north for another 30 minutes to Barberville, the kitsch capital of Florida. There is a business on the corner of the main road that has more statuary and goofy welded stuff than any two other places I've ever seen. Our friends were suitably awed and we moved on east to Ormond Beach. We had Elevensies and then rode the Ormond Loop, a 23 mile trip up the beach and then back down along the Halifax River on a two lane road lined with Southern Oaks that have overgrown the road...beautifully Kodak! We then drove south on US 1 to New Smyrna Beach and then back to Orlando. We had rain a few times, but it did nothing to dampen a great day. Got home around 2:30 after 185 miles, tired and happy.