S FL Galloping Gardeners 2007-10-22

Hi everyone, I've been a busy bee so little time to spend here.

Nice pictures everybody. Sylvain, you will have to show me how to do that trick. Wait I don't think I have Photoshop, oh well...

Sheldon, I'm sorry that I missed the Mounts sale. It's one of my favorites, but I've been to busy to go plant shopping.

Saturday, I saw a malachite for the first time since the 04 and o5 hurricanes. It rested a for a short while on my Allamanda, and of course when I ran inside to get the camera, it flew away. It's a good sign though, it means that they are finally back. i can't wait to see more. The hummers are back too. I've seen a couple everyday going to my Firebush and Firespike.

I entered some pictures for the DG photo contest. Voting was very hard as there are so many wonderful photos. Of course I wanted to vote for mine (probably the only votes I'll get LOL) but I ended up voting for others on most categories.

I can't wait for Saturday, most everybody is coming. I haven't heard yet form Joanmary, she told me that she would let me know close to the date.
Some of you have asked me if you could bring something (edible) and of course you can. I'll supply the meat, salad and drinks. If you want to bring some potato salad, pasta salad or similar and some dessert it would be perfect. If it's food it won't go to waste. The total people count is 17 so extra food is welcome.

Gotta run now, I'll be in touch later on.

Armando sent me this very nice poem he wrote and he wanted to share it with everyone;
-OUT OF US MEETING
A TOT WAS BORN
WE NAMED HIM FRIENSHIP
IS UP TO US ,TO FEED HIM RIGHT
FOR HIM TO LAST US FOREVER

Hi everyone! I'm new to your group, but I live in South Florida--Jupiter Farms. Not much galloping, but it took me a while to "gallop" through all your threads to find the current one.

Art's Zebra pic got me going. I have a very woodsy area of my property, woodsy because I can't keep up...;)

Here are 14 Zebras sleeping on a dead palm bloom/seed thingy. This was taken about 7AM today. Maybe they're cold. I just love these guys.

All the best,

Connie

Welcome to our neck of the woods, Connie. Your ZL are quite amazing, all huddled together like that. Here is a white butterfly (I don't know its name) that posed for me at Butterfly World last Saturday.

Sylvain.

Welcome, Connie. We are the BEST group around....

Hap..(Nancy Lee)

Welcome to our group Connie. I hope that you visit us often to chat about all sort of subjects.
That picture is truly amazing. Next year make sure that you enter it in the DG photo contest. It would be a winner.

I have a corner of my yard that is dense with shrubery. When I walk past it in the evening, I see all sort of butterflies flying around. I suspect that they are roosting there, but I'm afraid of getting too close as all sort of other critters like it too. Mainly spiders. One of these days I'll get the courage to look closely.

Thanks Sylvain, Nancy and jnana!

That white butterfly has similar markings as a cloudless sulphur. Great picture. What camera do you use? This digital one drives me nuts. I learned on a manual a LONG time ago.

I need to get over to the BW sometime. My property is a Florida registered butterfly garden. The woman who started this garden was a horticulturist high school teacher--it is an amazing one acre place. We've lived here 4+ years. After the 'canes it's all I can do to deal with debris and vines.

We lost much, but the butterflies did great. In fact, after the twin 'canes in '04 butterflies came from all around, probably from loss of habitat. We were probably the only few flowers left in the area for awhile...

Love your thread,

Connie

I learned photography in high school. There were no digital cameras in those days. I currently use an Olympus SP-350, 8 megapixel camera. I love it and I wouldn't trade it in for one of the 35-mm cameras I once used.

Sylvain.

I had to share my pix of a new friend. PURDY, HUH?

Anyone ever see the seed for a stephanotis?
Well, here ya are....

It's 5 1/2" long and 6" around. It's a real whopper!

ANd here is the vine that it is on.

Hi Everyone,
Welcome Connie, I used to live in N Palm, very near Juno Beach off US 1.

You guys are really into pictures today. Lots of nice pictures from everyone.

Sylvain, that butterfly is a White Morpho Morpho polyphemus. I caught a good shot of one my last trip there.

I have a shot for you guys and gals today too. My climbing aster has been blooming for a couple of weeks now. Here it is hanging on my N poolside Sable palm. I shot this a few minutes ago. Not the quality of your shots, but... well, you have heard that one before...laugh!

Art

Nice pictures Nancy. That seedpod is amazing. When it's ripe make sure to save some seeds.

Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow. It's supposed to be a nice day so we'll be able to sit out in the patio.

Got to run now, lots to do still.

See ya!!

Nice climbing aster, Art. : ) That is the first time I've ever seen one.
~Lucy

Wow Nancy,

I've been nursing my variagated Stephanotis for 3 years now. The only tropical that survived the move up here. I'm still waiting on my first bloom.

It's in my bathroom growing up am 8 foot trellis in the pot.

Yours looks great!!!!

Molly
:^))))

The Weather Channel showed yall are gonna get 82 degrees today. We might see 75. :^))))

Hi Everyone!
Butterfly count today at North Circle locations. I was at the Hillsborough Pinelands in Deerfield Beach with Sandy Koi, BCBC Atala expert and Sandy Granson, Extension Horticultural Technican and a couple famlies that joined us. We counted 24 species with 73 individuals. Our best count so far at this new location in the North Circle. One species I and three other people saw was not included, It is a blue forewing rust hindwing unknown butterfly/moth about 5/8'th inch across the wingspan. The Sandy's will check it out as I can't id it.

Group shot of most of us. Missing are five from a third family who arrived late and Nancy the BCBC secretary who was also late.

Fablous day with great weather. A bit chilly at 8:30 when we met, but it was good as the butterflies came out to warm up we saw our two biggest groups at the park's building before we even had a chance to to out into the area. They were warming up on the invasive Lantana Camera. We saw a group of 11 Julia's and another 10 Zebra Longwings.

I managed to pick up a few seed pods from Frostweed, Verbesina virginica Fla native. I previously mentioned this plant as a great Atala nectar source. This is my third batch of seeds from different plants at different locations. My first batch planted 10 days ago is already coming up. Tomorrow I will get the last two batches of seeds going. I have my first plant I purchased at the last native plant sale at Fern Forrest, in the ground by my newly created "woodsy" area's I made just for my Atala's.

My thought behind this woodsy area is if I have a nice shady area where the Atala's can hang out, they might stay around the yard longer. This "woodsy" area is also where I shot my Zebra Longwings in their overnight resting area. "it's working"

Art

Wow our group sure has been posting a lot lately! I'm glad to see it coming back alive. It was too quiet for quite a while!

It was very enjoyable viewing the pics from Liz & Tony's cruise. I bet you had a wonderfully memorable time!

Seeing all the other pics from y'all were so nice too.

The weather sure has been nice lately. Thankfully with the cooler weather, the plants won't be parched from the heat each day & it will be easier to keep them alive with our water restrictions.

We've got some estimates coming in to get work done at our house. We'll be getting a new cobblestone driveway & paths on each side of house to join a new patio in the back. It will be nice & hopefully we can have a couple of small gatherings at our tiny house this winter.

and have a good week!

~*~ Suenell

Hi Everyone!
Hope you all had a nice Veterans Day and that you are fortunate enough to have today off from work.

I have a picture today of a plant that has been a pain for me to grow and maintain. It's a Butterfly Stripe, Cristia obcordata. It's the second plant I have had. The first was a cutting from Val. In this picture it is blooming, which means...seeds will be forthcoming!
They are easy to grow from seeds, at least I hope they are. My other butterfly wing plant is very easy to grow from seed so I hope this one is too. At any rate, this is the first one of this var. that has flowered for me. It's five branches all have buds on the end.

Art

Hi everyone, it was so nice to have everybody here on Saturday. We missed those that couldn't make it, Sheldon, Art, and Joanmary. Hopefully, we will have newer and exciting GTs in the future in which we all can be together.

Nancy, it was wonderful to be able to celebrate Bob's birthday with all of us. I hope he wasn't too mortified when we sang for him LOL

I hope all of you had a good time, I certainly did. My biggest enjoyment came form seeing everybody together and having a good time. I'm glad that you all came.

I'm still a bit pooped from all the excitement, other than doing some cleaning, I've taken it rather easy.

Suenell, it was good to see you and Doc after such a long time. Don't be strangers now!

Ginger, I didn't get to thank you for the Hoya and didn't get to say goodbye to you. By the time I walked to the front you guys were gone. Anyways, thanks for the nice Hoya.

Cass, I never did give you the cutting of the orange Begonia. I took a cutting this morning and put it in a pot for you for when we see each other again.

We ended up with a pair of sunglasses, I don't know who they belong to. Let me know if you are missing a pair.

I have some pictures for you to enjoy. Here they are;

A partial group picture.

Another group shot, I look like I just saw a ghost LOL

Nancy is having a good time.

Another whole group shot.

Ok, the mystery of the sunglasses is solved.

Here are few more pictures.

Another

Sylvain and Michael

Cass, Suenell and Doc discussing the finer points of ???

Thank you for the pictures, Valerie. They look great. I tell you, we had such a good time. Seeing everyone is always such a boost.

Yours was the first address I entered into my newly acquired GPS. If anyone wants to be included in my address book, please send me your address in confidence via D-mail.

Good news, everyone: I have spotted my first monarch butterfly fluttering around my cassia bush and the milkweed. WooHoo. Maybe now we'll see more. Let's hope he has lots of friends and he spreads the word.

Take care, all.
Sylvain.

Well, some exciting news from the homefront. Lizette was here to get her sunglasses, as soon as she left I got a call from the BSO saying that I was under code red emergency. I almost fell of the chair, for that nanosecond I thought we were under some kind of bomb attack. I'll tell you my heart sank below my feet when I heard that. The long recording by someone with a deep serious voice went on to say that I should not go out, should lock all doors, close all drapes, shouldn't open any doors etc..According to the recording there are 3 armed robbery suspects that are loose in my community. After that call, I will say that I was a bit freaked out. There have been helicopters circling this area since around 11 this morning. I thought that they were going through some kind of excercise because there were so many and it didn't stop.

So here I am locked down in my own house, you can't hear anything right now, I think that they are not letting any cars in because I don't even see cars on the road.

Here is a link http://www.coopercityblog.blogspot.com/

That's it I'm moving to another planet. What's wrong with people.......

We heard about all this on the noon news. We told ourselves: "Again with Cooper City! What's wrong over there?". It should be over soon. Keep those doors closed and stay safe.

Good luck with all that.
Sylvain.

Thanks Sylvain, I got a call about 15 minutes ago saying that they caught 2 of the suspects, but one is still on the loose. They told us we should proceed with caution whatever that means.

I got to see it all on the news. It seemed that the undercover cop followed them right here were they got out of the car and ran into our community. If I draw a straight line from my house to Sheridan that's were they abandoned the car. No wonder the helicopters kept circling right above our houses for hours.

Geez...I would be freaked, also. One night I had about 6 police officers with flashlights and a dog was in my yard looking under cars and such. Scared me to death. They didn't bother to call or anything. The next day, I heard an elderly lady 2 roads over had been raped.

Sure would have liked them to tell me to be on the lookout. I'm glad they told you, finally.
Stay safe. ~Lucy

This message was edited Nov 12, 2007 7:02 PM

Val, Thank you so much for having us all over on Saturday. We all had such a good time. It was great seeing everyone one again. We need to plan another GT. How about going to Palm Hammock the week after Thanksgiving which would be the week of 11/26. Is anyone interested?

Thanks Lucy, it was scary for a while. It's good that they let us know. Even though they scared us half to death, but at least we were able to take precautions. I heard that they caught one of the suspects at the community right across the street from Stirling. He was hiding in a shed.
Lucy, that's horrible what happened to that older lady. I would castrate all rapists the moment they catch them, end of problem.

Lizette, I'm all for it. I've never been to Palm Hammock and would love to go. I'm planning to plant mainly Begonias and Bromeliads in the front so a visit there would be nice (probably not for my pocketbook LOL).
Who else is up for it?

I've been to Palm Hammock with Nancy in May. I loved it. That would work for a GT for me.

Val, on the subject of emasculation, castration sounds good but without anesthesia and done with popsicle sticks instead of an axe or scalpel. Ooh, I'm so wicked!

Take care, all.
Sylvain.

Gee, Val, why couldn't you have all the excitement when we were there.? NO fair.

I will be in Chicago that weekend, but as Sylvain said, we were just there, so I don't feel so bad.

Again, Bob and I had a ball on Sat. Thanks again.

Great pictures, Val. We had so much fun - you two made us all feel at home and gave us enough food that I won't have to eat for a week.

What's Palm Hammock?

OH Palm Hammock sounds good, whatever it is. lolz

TY Val & Mark for such a wonderful time. We ate so much food we didn't have anymore till breakfast the next day!

It was great seeing y'all again.

~*~ Suenell

Palm Hammock is a wonderful nursery. You will love it. What day works best for everyone? I'm pretty flexible but would prefer Monday or Tuesday.

http://members.tripod.com/~PalmHammockOrchidEst/phoe.html

Thank you all for coming and making this GT a success. It was a pleasure to have you all. I hope that this GT means that we will continue to meet regularly to gallop around the area.

Ginger, the pie was really good. It's gone now and it probably went to my waist LOL

I'm with Lizette, Monday or Tuesday works for me.

Nancy, will you be gone for the whole week or just Thanksgiving weekend?

Are you all getting some rain. I'm glad that it has rained a bit for the past 3 days. I was afraid that the dry season had started too early.