Florida Chit Chat #192

Howdy all,
We have a good wet new month here and I think we could use a new chat thread.
We came fromhttp://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1186529/
The Lempkin family I featured last month has grown to where the young are almost hard to tell from the parents. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Limpkin/id
The bird featured this month locals call "Snake birds" as they swim with their heads just barely out of the water. I will get the official name for you if Sandy doesn't tell us first.
Please come by often and share anything here.
Sidney

Good morning
Sidney thanks for the new thread and the great bird picture
That is a male Anhinga, it is one bird I can remember the Latin name for as it is Anhinga anhinga

Sandy

Yep, both snake bird and anhinga are correct. However, we tend to call them the "hey get off of our boat" birds or the "hey stop pooping on the boat" birds....

LOL

LOL

Hi, all.

Thanks for the new thread, Sidney. Yep, those birds produce copious amounts of white, liquid and seemingly eclosive excreta. They would congregate on the fountain in the middle of the canal when I lived in Lauderhill. Eventually, the weight of all that white muck sank the fountain into the canal. It had to be fished out of there, cleaned and reset to work. To keep the snake birds away, they covered every vertical surface with pieces of CDs glued, rainbow side facing upwards. They would approach the fountain, see the shimmering and changing colors and fly away. Hey, if you have CDs of Laurence Welk (snore), André Rieux (pompous) and that insufferable warbler Céline Dion (nasal voice), I guess you can break them into pieces and glue them to whatever you want to protect. Isn't CD mosaic fun and creative? You have to got to love Dave's Garden for its educational values.

If you enjoy Laurence Welk, André Rieux or Céline, I still like you. Please don't tell me about it. I won't change my mind.

In other news, the space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled by NASA to lift off on July 8th at 11:26AM. And this time, I am going... come hail or high water. WooHoo! I'll pack my High-Def video camera. I can't wait!

Take care, all.
Sylvain.

Sylvain, if you do get some good shots, would you sell me a copy? I so want to take off work and take DH as he has never seen one (on TV doesn't count) but since I'm the only one working we can't be without that days pay. I wish it had been leaving today so we could have drove over an seen it. Just incredible watching it lift off.

Jan

Although I'm in Orlando, we can see the launch, even though it's small.....Everyone on our cul-de-sac watches the 10 count on tv, and when the blast-off fires start, we all run out to the middle of the street and watch it shoot over the trees and cheer. The night launches have been beautiful.
I will miss them...the space program still seemed to have been a local pride and something still full of wonder and awe.

Oh how neat to be that close and I agree the night ones are incredible to watch.

I can't understand why (yes I know they say money, but when has that ever stopped our government???) we would let go of this program. I'm not interested in going to the moon or any other planet, but I felt it was an important program for us to have. DH wanted to be the first paid seat to the moon on it.

Jan

Here are some shots I got the last couple of days.
Didn't these Great Blue Heron pose nicely?

Here's a colorful little fellow I hadn't seen before.

Here's a juvenile GBH;

Great pictures. The little Heron is the Green Heron-have never figured out why it was called that.

Where is everyone!!! Wake up

Sandy

At the library for a few moments, but I may be booted off the computer at any time because I am already on "extended life" since no one is currently waiting for a computer.

Some good news came today -- I don't have to take on the responsibility for formal legal eviction of my brother's girlfriend that he left in our family home after he died back in April. The girlfriend is (sincerely) schizophrenic straight-jacket crazy and we were having a difficult time to even understand that my brother was actually dead and that she needed to move on. Her daughter finally took responsibility and will (supposedly) move the girlfriend out tomorrow. But the last time the daughter attempted to pack the belongings, the girlfriend called 911, pleaded her case to the police and the police made the daughter return all the items to the house. The girlfriend also called 911 on my brother who was visiting here from Kansas last week and was trying to move things out of the house. You'd think by now the police would be aware of the false reports, but I suppose they are required to respond even if it is a certifiable lunatic calling 911. I am just feeling a big sigh of relief that I don't have to go to court over this mess.

Good garden news - my Flor de Nino plant (Euphorbia leucocephala http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/86745/ ) finally made an appearance above ground to prove that it survived another brutal winter. It is related to Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherimma), but more hardy. It also flowers in December with a shower of tiny white flowers. A great plant to grow, if you can find it. Also, my Star Fruit (Averrhoa carambola) has once again come back from the freezes. I think, though, that it is a shoot from the root stock that is growing and not the cultivar that was grafted onto the root stock. It will never reach blooming/fruiting height unless I provide it (and some other tender tropicals) with a permanent greenhouse with a dirt floor.

Jeremy

Gosh Jeremy...I'm so happy to see that stress like that doesn't have to be in your cards! It's so difficult to deal with those who aren't always amongst the clearest of thinkers....
I know this sounds silly, but on MY side note, my butterfly ginger I bought like 6 years ago, finally just bloomed! Only one measely little flower, but it spared it's own life, I was ready to rip it all out and throw it away. :)

Hi, MerryMary! That seems to be the tried and true way to get a reluctant plant to perform -- threaten it with death! LOL

I am truly glad I don't have to go through the eviction procedure with the certifiably crazy lady. Her daughter's plan was that she would move her out today if it didn't rain. Wouldn't you just know -- for the first time in weeks we had a major deluge all day today! I will wait to see if the move occurs this weekend or next week.

Jeremy

Hurrah! I got the word today that the crazy lady is officially out of our family home. Christina stayed home from work today so the Mustang is available. I may run by the house late this afternoon to clear out any remaining belongings of my Mom and brother. I took my Mom's 1960s era Hamilton Beach kitchen mixer. Too many birthday cakes were made on it over the decades (and too many mixing bowls I was given to lick clean) to allow that bit of memorabilia to go to a yard sale. I will definitely think of my Mom and happy times whenever I view or use the mixer.

I am sad for the death of my cat, Tippy, this past Sunday, early in the morning. He had shown signs of being ill over the past few weeks (drinking lots of water and getting very skinny), but his final decline was very sudden. He was doing O.K. on Friday, but by Saturday afternoon he couldn't walk or jump and wouldn't eat or drink. He was a kitten I found under my scrap woodpile a little over 4 years ago. I immortalized him in an oil painting a few years ago -- the only painting of an animal I've ever done. He will be greatly missed.

Another advantage (in addition to saving gas, not bothering with having to drive and the hassles of traffic, and riding for free niorow that I am a "senior" over 61 yrs old) of riding the city bus and sometimes walking a few blocks home from the bus stop is the, opportunity to discover plants in the neighborhood. This one was a great find -- what I think is Passiflora edulis, Maypop -- the edible passion fruit vine. It was growing on a chainlink fence by an abandoned lot, so I didn't feel any guilt or shame in coming back later to dig up a few small vines. I will probably be able to propagate it from cuttings. If anyone wants some, let me know!

Jeremy

Here's the fruit on the passion vine. It will probably breed true from seeds, so I will keep checking back to get some fruit to eat and also allow some to ripen on the vine to have seeds to grow new plants.

Jeremy

I'm using a laptop computer at the library and the laptop gremlins are once again driving me insane by causing the cursor to jump back to some previous point in my typing, so I will sign off for now and move on to some other tasks and errands.

Here's a photo of Balloon Flower (Platycodon grandiflorus). These will sometimes perform as perennials (hardy annuals) in my garden if I can get them situated in a somewhat protected spot beneath taller shrubs.

Jeremy

Jeremy I would like one if you get enough going, I am soaking 4 different edible passion fruit vine seeds right now.

Sandy

Sure thing, Sandy. I also have the Bastard lndigo Tree (Amorpha fruticosa) you requested. It is potted up for you. I had to dig it up to proceed with the installation of the above-ground pool. There was a decades old iron pipe about 1 ft deep that was a supply line for garden irrigation, probably installed by the original owners/builders of my house in 1936. The pipe ran out into the area where the pool will be situated. I'm still without a telephone, but feel free to drop by.

Jeremy

I am getting a new camera next week so will plan on coming over around then

Hello, everyone.

Jeremy, it was nice to read you again. It's been a while and I enjoy your writing. Of course, I'm always up for a passionflower cutting here and there. They seem to have highs and lows, don't they? Sometimes, the trellis is so full, you can't see the structure. Then, caterpillars invade it and before I can spray the whole thing with BT, it's defoliated vines and a practically bare trellis. But they pick right up on their way to a new high.

Wren, happy camera shopping.

Take care, all.
Sylvain.

Sylvain thanks have the camera body all picked out just waiting for the money to get here tomorrow.
I grow the passion vines for the caterpillers, so I am happy to see them specially if they are the rare Zebra Longwings

Have passion fruit vine seeds soaking will plant them this afternoon

Sylvain,
I understand your not liking the caterpillars, but if you let them cocoon your passion fruit will still leaf out and make flowers. You will be rewarded with awesome butterflies.
I have been to your lovely home and so I understand you have limited space and wont hold the extermination against you.
My beautiful yellow milkweed raised aphids, ladybugs, was stripped by cats that cocooned and made Monarchs.
It is now very busy re-leafing.
Full circle in S. Florida. I love living down here.
Sidney

Hi.

There is still quite a bit of polar region gardener remaining in me. What I plant must grow! It's as if I still expect my growing season to be 4 months at best before the snow shows up again. I'm working on it, but it's ingrained in me.

So, when caterpillars devour my plants, I see no reason not to unleash the equivalent of a nuclear weapon on them. As I age, I'll mellow out. In the mean time, I'm out to fight the dang cats who have found Gail's favorite snow on the mountain bush and are eating it into twigs as I speak. I shall take no prisonners and leave them all behind me, as dead as can be.

Take care, all.
Sylvain

I'm trying to remember which Flutterby feeds on that plant.
I understand. I forgive you too.
Sidney

Hi, Sylvain. If we can find me another "surrogate mailer," I will be very happy to send you some of the recently found passionvine. I need to go back by the empty lot to see if any of the fruit is ripe yet. I recall from my Mom's passionvine when I was a kid, the fruit is delicious when ripe (you eat the seeds and pulp), but will pucker you like a sour persimmon when it is not quite ripe. A yellow color present in the fruit before the fruit starts to wrinkle is what I recall as optimum ripeness.

This edible type passionvine apparently wants to grow in full sun. The chain link fence it is growing on doesn't get any shade during the day, from what I can determine. I usually think of passionvines as preferring a location with some shade during the day. Passiflora 'Incense' will grow in full sun, total shade, in any soil where ever it can send up a sucker. I have done a fairly good job of keeping it from totally overtaking my garden this year. I've potted up a lot of the vines that had a good root system when I pulled them up, so I have them to share if anyone wants any (grow only in a pot with no drainage holes, surrounded by concrete!). As a result of partially controlling the P. 'Incense' in its attempt to blanket the world, I do have far fewer Gulf Fritillary butterflies, which is a shame. When I let the 'Incense' grow at will, I could find a dozen or so Gulf Frittilaries in just about any area of my yard at anytime. The Zebra Longwing butterlies, which also use passionvine as their larval food, have not yet made a return after the two especially severe winters. I haven't seen a single one of them for about 2 years.

Sandy, we are still without a phone at home (and no cell phones), so feel free just to drop by. If I am not at home, I will leave your passionvine and Bastard Indigo out by the front white trellis (now covered in flowering moonvines, passiflora 'Lavender Lady' and lots of morning glories.

Jeremy

This message was edited Jul 14, 2011 1:59 PM

Maybe Saturday

My "mystery" shrub/tree was identified in the I.D. Forum as Box Elder Maple, Manitoba Maple (Acer negundo http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2516/ )

Does anyone remember giving me such a creature? Maybe I got it in a local tree give-away several years ago, but I have no recollection of where it came from, just a vague memory of planting it and putting the pink plastic strip around the trunk so that I would have a visual cue that it was something other than a weed.

Jeremy

You should plant the native passionflower vines to attract the Zebra longwing butterflies. I Passiflora suberosa found in the Jacksonville area?

we had the Zebra Longwings before the freezes the last 2 winters, they can not handle the cold.

good morning Miss Sandy, yes if we are lucky the zebra longwings will fly north in their next generation.

or if I get enough passion vines going I will buy some cats from Shady Oak Butterfly farm, and get them started up here again. LOL

We used to get many zebras longwings here in spite of the fact that I didn't have any native passion vines but these past cold winters really did them in. It has been at least 3 years since I have seen one.

I haven't seen any this year here in Orlando. Usually, my backyard has tons of them.

I'm in favor of importing some Zebra Longwings to fill the void caused by the past two winters. But I would hate to put them out if they would just get frozen again in December/January. I am seriously considering putting up a screen house to raise Gulf Frittilary and Zebra Longwings to sell for release at weddings, etc. I would be able to cover or heat the screen house to keep the Zebras alive through the winter. Somehow the occupational title of "butterfly rancher" seems to fit me well. LOL

Jeremy

LOL, that would be one way to get rid of the passion vine that tried to eat the world

We have loads of gulf fritillaries over here. They are the ones that lay those eggs that develop into caterpillars and eat just about everything in sight. Anyone who wants them can come spend a weekend here and run around with a butterfly net, if they wish. As far as zebra longwings are concerned, I don't believe I ever saw one around my house. My friend Art told me the population of ZL crashed dramatically after hurricane Wilma. Art is usually quite knowledgeable when butterflies are concerned.

Take care, all.
Sylvain.