I have Cattleya Orchids that I've bought online and never seen in bloom. I was so excited when this Orchid put up a bloom:
It was only one flower, but I'd had this plant for years and was excited to see it bloom for the first time!
Finally, the bloom opened up! Isn't it pretty!? But I don't like the background...
I don't like this background either...
What do I have to do to get a decent looking background? My dirty shed and my neighbor's deck in the background is not cutting it!
I took the plant down from the s-hook where it was hanging, walked down the ramp and toward the front yard, where I was going to give it a better background. Then after I got some good pictures, it was going inside so I could enjoy the bloom. But hey! Where's the flower? I looked back where I had just traversed and found the bloom laying on the ground. What a dumb-ass! I had knocked it right off of the plant! So, I used my scissors to freshen the cut end, put it in a shallow cup of water, and enjoyed it for about a week and a half before it wilted and died. It was a beauty!
It's day 10 for the Berry College Bald Eagle chick. I'll be glad when the baby no longer requires constant brooding. I saw Mom Berry step on the baby's head twice today while she was trying to get into brooding position. Mom is stretching her injured leg in this screen capture. She usually does this after laying down for a while. She seems to be using her left leg more and I even saw her make a fist during this stretch today.
Feeding time and the chick is chilling with the egg.
Here's a short video of a funny interaction between the Humboldt Bay Bald Eagles yesterday. It seems they disagreed on where to place a stick. Don't have your speakers too loud as there is a lot of wind noise. And in this second video of the same couple, Dad makes an attempt at mating (and fails) and then gets it right later on. I do want to point out some interesting behaviors in this video. In the first attempt, Dad hops up next to Mom and puts his head down. She wants to mate so she puts her head down and Dad hops on. Very often, when I see this sequence, I know what's going to happen next... Anyway, if you don't laugh at these two videos, then we just have a very different sense of humor. I think I have found the other nest to watch this season! Fingers crossed they have 2 or 3 hatchlings...
I usually put my orchids outside during the summer. Watering them is always a pain after I bring them inside for the winter -- except this year I'm trying something new. (Do not water Moth Orchids this way. The leaves will rot off if water gets into the junction where the leaf meets the trunk of the plant.) Here are my 15 (non-moth) orchids in my spare tub. I adjust the water temperature, close the shower curtain, and then let it rain. Then I can leave them to drain before putting them back where they belong. Perfect!
Can you see the flower in the above picture? That is the flower spike that I first noticed on my Epidendrum on October 1st and posted about here. The flower is supposed to be a ball of little flowers, like a firework. So, this isn't the best example of an Epidendrum. But I'm still happy it is finally in bloom. Here's a close-up of the flowers:
My Betta died on January 25th, exactly 2 years from the day that I brought him home. I finally found a new Betta that I like. His name is Cinnamon. I put together this cool new house for him. My other Betta was just in a little Betta bowl. But this Betta seems so much happier in this nice house. That's a real plant in there, helping to oxygenate the water!
I blogged about my Orchids in previous posts. And I promised an update. Two of my Orchids are doing great! So, I'm doing pictures of them first:
This is my Cattleya:
Taken on 11/10 showing the buds just coming out of the sheath:
Taken on 11/17, using my finger to show the size of the flower buds:
Taken on 11/21 just to look pretty. This is the first time I've ever seen this orchid bloom:
Taken on 11/21 to show size of blooms:
Taken on 11/21 close-up to show detail -- pretty and fragrant. Looks like velvet:
This is my Dendrobium:
Taken on 11/10 showing flower spike with flower buds:
Taken on 11/17 with one bloom open:
Taken on 11/24 with two blooms open. Pretty, but not fragrant:
My Epidendrum taken on 11/10. Still looks the same today... Not sure what's happening here:
My Mini-Cattleya taken on 11/10. Seems like the sheath died. Not sure why. We had a hot patch of weather while it was still outside and it might have gotten too dry. The Cattleya above was in the same environment. But it might have been better able to handle it since it's a larger plant. Maybe I'll have better luck with this one next year:
And a couple of random pics that were on my camera when I downloaded it... This is one of my Camellias. I love Camellias. They bloom in the cold weather when just about nothing else is in bloom. This particular one has a fragrance too -- kinda spicy.
And this is a regular visitor on my back deck. I had a bag of bird food that was infested with moths. (So annoying.) I put the bag outside so they wouldn't infest my house... Picture is taken through window and screen. Talk about being in hog heaven:
And in Bald Eagle news, it looks like the Northeast and Southwest eagle cam nests will both have two eggs this year. If either nest was going to have a third egg, it would have been laid by now. I checked in on both cams this evening and Moms were on the nest, incubating/sleeping. Seemed really cold and windy at the Northeast nest... And I looked in on the Berry College nest -- no one was home. But that's ok, since there aren't any eggs yet...
Pam Monahan has posted some new pictures of Bald Eagle HK. She's got a really neat picture where I first thought he was coming in for a landing. But he's looking up and if he was landing, his wings would be stretched out to slow him down. And he would be looking down, concentrating on sticking the landing. But with his wings in this position, he's trying to get a big stroke for some big lift. My final answer: He was taking off. Neat picture.
Bald Eagle Camellia is 32 miles away from his check-in point of three days ago. I think he's enjoying this beautiful weather!
I mentioned in my September 24th post that I've got a couple of Cattleya Orchids in sheath. It occurred to me to take some pictures! (My Orchids spend the summer outside in dappled shade. Some get more sun than others, depending on the type.)
About the two that are in sheath: I bought both of these Orchids online (years ago) and have never seen either bloom. So, I'm really excited! The sheath is that rounded bit coming up from the junction of the leaf with the stem. You can tell by the size of the sheath that a big bloom is on its way:
The other one is a Mini-Cattleya. They typically had two leaves per stem and the sheath comes from that juncture. The leaves and sheath are considerably smaller on a Mini-Catt. The bloom will also be smaller. But the blooms on both are supposed to be very fragrant, which is why I bought them. Something else to note: Each year, the leaves should get bigger than the previous year's leaves. I definately succeeded with this one! Which is why it's happy and giving me a flower!
I've also got a couple of other varieties putting up flower spikes. This is a Dendrobium, one of the easiest Orchids to get to rebloom. I've had quite a few of these rebloom. Some of them have flower spikes and some of them put out blooms along the stem, at each leaf junction. This kind has a spike. There's only one spike, but it's still a success for me!
And this is my Epidendrum with a flower spike. This is the first time I've gotten it to rebloom!
I'll post pictures of them in bloom when they get there...
There is a new location posted for Bald Eagle Camellia. I wonder if he's wandering a bit more now that it's cooler? He does seem to be exploring more these days.
In my wanderings, I found this site called Dog Heirs. Here's a place to start, with a rescue of a Wolf. From there, click on links for whatever looks interesting to you. I've already spent about a half hour poking around and still want to look at more stories that are offered. Here's a dog rescue with a funny ending. I love stuff like that!
I grow orchids. I don't necessarily have luck getting them to re-bloom. But I love a challenge! I have orchids that I bought online years ago that I've never seen bloom. Have I ever mentioned that I'm stubborn? I attended some classes over at the Norfolk Botanical Garden and at McDonald Garden Center with Steve Urick, who takes care of the orchids at ODU. These classes were probably two and three years ago. Probably 4 classes in total. I must have finally gotten something right. I had already noticed that two of my cattleya orchids are in sheath (getting ready to bloom). Then, out of nowhere, I caught sight of purple and discovered that a completely different cattleya orchid that I hadn't even noticed was in sheath was suddenly in bloom. Just one bloom. But it's still my first cattleya to rebloom! So I'm really excited about that and I can still look forward to the two that are getting ready to bloom!
I mentioned the Berry College Eagle Cam in a previous post. I looked in on the cam last night and this is what I found!
And tonight, they've got a date/time stamp on the cam. And someone is home! This is looking like the cam to watch these days!
I think the American Kestrel is one of the prettiest birds. Ron Dudley has done a post on his Feathered Photography blog with some interesting pictures that show their hunting behavior. These pictures are neat, especially the dive-bombing picture. But I especially love the last picture in his post. It's a stunning picture of a perched American Kestrel. Just beautiful!
Reese's last location for Camellia was on 7/20, and our boy hadn't gone very far since then. Since today is 7/23, I checked the tracker for his most recent check-in and it still says 7/20. I guess that's why Reese hasn't posted a location today. Camellia got his transmitter on May 5, 2010. I hope he isn't running out of juice!
There is also an update posted by Reese for KE's location. She hasn't gone too far either. Maybe it's too hot for flying and our babies are spending a lot of time perching in a shady spot.
Check out this picture I found. Do you see it? (Darn it. I always double check my links and it opened a different picture. So, I've updated the link. But if it doesn't open a picture of a purple flower with a surprise, try moving a few pictures one way or the other. This morning it was picture 23, now it's picture 26. Grrr.)
I have found a fantastic Osprey Nest Cam. The picture is as crystal clear as the NBG Eagle Cam used to be. The nest is on Hog Island, Maine. There are two youngsters that are doing a lot of wingercizing. I look at it on a page where it's embedded, but you may do better by googling it. This is a fantastic cam: beautiful scenes and a great picture. And look at all the stuff in this nest. Osprey are the biggest collectors of junk! Check out these screen captures!
Something has caught their attention.
This picture shows the buff colors of the babies, front and back:
Nice close-ups with this cam:
I think it's pretty universal. Hot babies seek whatever shade they can find. And Mommas are happy to oblige.
They take turns wingercizing:
And sit quietly enjoying the view:
Feeding time for one of the babies:
Until the other comes forward to be fed:
Here's the whole family. You have to be quick to catch Dad on the nest. He will drop off a fish and leave. I tried for a better s'cap, but he flew away:
Camellia has checked in. He hasn't gone far since his last check in. He must be finding plenty to eat without having to go very far!
Every now and then, a Brown Thrasher checks out the patio table where I sprinkle bird seed. This picture was taken with my point-and-shoot through a window (screen and glass) on max zoom. Despite all of that, you can at least tell that it's a Brown Thrasher. They usually stay in thick under-growth, so it's always a surprise to see one hopping along my back deck or up on the table having a snack.
Ron Dudley posted a beautiful Osprey photo on his Feathered Photography blog. He goes into some detail regarding getting a good shot under difficult lighting conditions. He says he will post some more Osprey photos from his trip. Can't wait!
I went to Vegas last month. Here's some pictures:
These first three pictures are from the Mirage. I think this is a variety of bromeliad. Very pretty.
And I love orchids:
I thought this light was pretty (if you're wondering what to get me for Christmas, hint, hint...). Seriously though, this thing is huge!
We went to the Botanical Garden in the Bellagio. There were a lot of beautiful plants along with plenty of whimsy:
This is the glass ceiling in the Bellagio:
And this is just one of those pure "Vegas" pictures that you just have to take...
I also took video of two of the water shows at the Bellagio:
Star Spangled Banner
Time To Say Goodbye
The Geese at the Mission Nest have left the nest. The last two eggs never hatched. After all the goslings hatch, the parents jump out of the nest and the babies follow. The parents lead them to the water and they stay together as a family, with the goslings learning to forage from their parents. I was running errands today, so I missed it. But I found a video of the big jump that Mochamama22 posted on YouTube. I'm so glad someone got video!
