I thought they were supposed to look like large tennis rackets. Those certainly are high tech! I'm not sure what their real function is though. Is it to keep you from sinking in the snow when you walk? Do they work as well on sheets of ice? How far can you walk(?), hike (?), shoe (?) in them? You are our resident Nanook! I noticed little tracks, like chicken feet, angled out from your snow prints and thought the shoes had some kind of "tails" for balancing. Do you need to use poles?
Showed DD your photos from recent days. She came home from D.C. for the holidays. She's missing Northampton, Smith and all that "great weather". I loved when she would jump up and down (a little spot) in front of the Smith greenhouse or student center webcams at an agreed upon weekend time while describing the weather. Sometimes she would jump up, go down, and then be gone in a pile of snow. Magic to me! lol
Laurel
What's In Your Garden, Part 4
Neat image of your daughter at the Smith GH webcam jumping. Yeah the tennis rackets were soooo heavy. And these are balances so you don't need tails. I had the tennis racket type but never used them much because of the weight and my bad back. These are a breeze. Yeah, it distributes the weight over a larger surface area and you don't sink as much. If your feet sink you get exhausted from pulling them out of deep snow-not much fun. This way it's almost like going for a walk or hike, but a bit more strenuous and you have to be real careful not to step on your other snowshoe which trips you and you fall into the snow. You can hike forever and you can walk over bushes, etc. It's sposta be icy tomorrow so I can check that out. The claw bottoms make ice better than boots. I don't ever use poles. Poles are best for skiing-both downhill and especially cross country where you go uphill too. Cross country skiers love someone to snowshoe in front of them so the snow is packed down a bit. BTW on Xmas the driveway was slick ice and attached my cleats onto my shoes so I don't even hafta think about falling. Take em off in the car and put them back on when I arrive back home to get into the house. Life in Western MA.
Here's a cute one. Tumbling bunny.
Fred, why are peacocks wandering about? Do they belong to a neighbor? DD was working in Atlanta this past summer and called to let me know there was a peacock walking down our street. When I called animal control to let them know someone had lost their peacock, the officer consulted with his supervisor and tried to tell me they were native animals here. lol Middle of the city no less! I was warned if I touched it I'd be liable to jail and a fine. Anyway, it was one of a two pairs that a neighbor had recently acquired. Thank goodness not next door. I can't sleep 'cause they "scream" all night.
L
I see peacocks wondering about here as well but so far, none are close enough to bother us. They do make a racket at night. Sandhill cranes stroll about the yard almost every day. They have a nasty habit of pulling my plant ID stakes out of the ground and tossing them into the air. I then run over them with the lawn tractor. (the stakes not the birds)
Thanks Nanook for the winter wonderland education. LOL. It was a nice sunny 76 degrees here today. Here is a picture of my butterfly garden. Lots of bees and a few monarchs are still very active.
Cute bunny Sally.
Jim
LOL! Jim, ya had me goin there. I thought you meant you mow the birds! BTW, I adore sandhill cranes and have been on elaborate birding trips to see them in AZ when I lived there. So it was funny to think of them as pests! Especially tossing the labels in the air. Do they throw food around, too?
They are like pack rats and attracted to anything shiny. Very curious to watch and curious in habit.
Sally, ever the sucker for yard art, I love your tumbling bunny. Not willing to say "die" to those impatiens myself, I have them blooming in the house as windowbox salvages right now. Are they winter plants your way? I know they grow best in South FL in Winter.
Laurel
I think the peacocks live in somebody's yard around here. I can't imagine that they are wild and simply flying in here to check out my garden but I've never seen or heard them before. Maybe they are like homing pigeons who will always return to where the food is. They flew away so whereever they come from they have freedom to travel. .
Fred
Flowers here and there this morning
hibiscus are always nice but I wish they would last longer.
dendrobiums just bloom month after month among the impatients in the trees
a splash of color
tai crown of thorns are getting rather large but the flowers are always there
how can anyone not like those thorns?
the dombeya just keeps on growing. I guess I should cut it back but who can mess with all those flowers?
a native ground orchid whose name escapes me at the moment but it is ready to bust out with lots of flowers.
neglected vandas just keep on blooming but I had better stop now
Sigh!! Wonderful show! Such happy plants today!
Fred I may be wrong, but I think those are seed pods on the native orchids....could you have missed the flowers?
I guess I could have missed the flowers on that orchid. It's behind a tree. I will keep an eye on that but I have many others scattered about like weeds. I have the name on my other computer in my plant DB.
fred
PS It's raining out. That's always news during the dry winter months. I'm also a bit wet as I had to get all the Christmas decorations back to the garage and the rain came sort of NOW. The skys simply open and it pours.
Fred would you be willing to part with some of those seed pods? What species is it?
Fred, what a wonderful show!! I love the Bougainvillea and everything else you posted.
Snow flurries here, as I look wistfully out the window....
edited for typo
This message was edited Jan 8, 2009 5:17 PM
Wonderful posts Fred. That should perk up the spirits for our northern friends. I just had a walk-a-bout and found a bromeliad in bloom.
Jim
This is a polyantha rose called La Marne.
Jim
This is Dortmund, a hybrid kordesi rose that I use as a climber. Note the insect.
Jim
Here is Old Blush, a hybrid China old garden rose. They do very well in Florida and require no spraying.
Jim
The poinsettias are still blooming.
Jim
I grow Persian Shield for the colorful foliage but as I looked at today, I saw it was in bloom. The flowers are really nice.
Jim
The banana watch is ongoing. I think I will be able to hang them in the garage in another week or two.
Jim
Finally, my tibouchina, which must be approaching 20 feet tall, is coming into bloom. It will soon be covered with purple flowers. I love this plant.
Jim
Jim,
I've tried tibouchina and they always die on me. No idea why.
fred
PS I just took a banana bunch down day before yesterday. Now I get 4 of them for breakfast along with my serial.
Ya'll are keeping me going. Bananas are my favorite FL fruit. We used to grow Lady Fingers, among others. It's been a warm and wet week here. Now it's cold again. Forsythia is blooming all over the city and daffodils are up and budded. I'm hoping to get to the Atlanta Botanical Garden tomorrow and take some orchid photos.
Laurel
Jim and Fred, your pics were just what the doctor ordered. We had sun today. I thought I would go blind! I am thankful that I live just below all the awful weather the NE has been having. The Delaware Bay moderates the temps. here enough that we avoid the bad stuff, usually.
After you put the bananas in the garage, how long do they stay there before you can start to eat them? How long will they last?
Enjoy the garden tomorrow, Laurel.
Jan
I see banana bread inyour future, Jim. I have Dortmund rose but it's now a lump under the snow. I don't let it climb but spread and then I cut it back to a bush periodically. Didn't know P. Shields have flowers!
Can't wait for the orchid pics, Laurel!!!
Question? Now that I live here in FL, I'd like to keep at least one of the Poinsettias growing for color outside.Have many as I have had continuous company during December. Can I grow them in containers, and what happens until next year? Helene
I don't have my poinsettias in pots as they can get pretty big I'm sure it can be done with some trimming. You would have the added benefit of moving them into spaces where they get minimum light. My suggestion for pots would be to just buy some before Christmas and plant them as decoration. They'll always be nicer in color then what we can grow ourselves.
Fred
PS Katd is really the container grower and she might have some input on this.
thanks, It is because I have a bunch I will try to keep them in containers and see what happens. Have some space in ground for planting but gardeners that come to clean tend to destroy a lot with the blowers. Looking forward to January 25 to see your gardens. Checked in with "Dutchlady" with my bring along.....Helene
Helene,
I thought you had cancelled. I must be making things up. Chris coming with you?
Fred
Fred and Helene , you better take lots of pictures!!!
Hey Chubbydoll,
you asked about some seedlings of the pic in http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=5977447
I have a feeling that this might be a futile effort and I could send you a plant instead. I mean I can include a seedpod but don't know if you'll have any luck with it. Orchids in general are tough to propogate from seed. A typical pollinated orchid might have a million seeds of which 4 or 5 may make it.
This particular ground orchid has the common name of Monks Orchid (oeceoclades maculata). It grows freely in wooded areas around here.
Fred
PS what was shown in that picture were seedpods. I checked other pictures and these plants bloom during the early summer months.
Hello Fred, I did cancel and re-instated with "Dutchlady" casting my bring along which will be a lasagna, delic. Yes Chris (DH) is coming as well, hoping this is still ok. After seeing some of your pictures etc. soo looking forward. Helene