If You See My Mojo, Would You Mind Sendin' it Home?

'Cuz it took off a couple of days ago and hasn't been seen since! And, since there's nothing worse than 'forcing it' ... I'm not. After all, we do this for fun ... don't we?!?

Okay, if you've been following my blog for awhile, you know I periodically show off pix of my darlin' babies ... meaning my bee-you-tea-full orchids. Oh, and my totally weird banana trees. If you're interested, you can see more FLora + Fauna photos in my blog labels, or search for "flora" in the search box, above on the left.

So, in the spirit of a stamp release party, presenting Miss May:


Miss May is a gorgeous young phalaenopsis orchid and the newest member of my large family of purple orchids. I love Miss May's soft lavender/white coloration ... isn't she purty?!?

My DS and DIL sent this beauty to me from Wisconsin for my birthday ... and let me tell you, she was sooooooooo happy to see that her new home was in the sub-tropics! And since it's monsoon season down here, her happy state should continue until say, November. After that, not so much.

Soooooo, yesterday afternoon I called my friend Barb to leave a message in her voicemail. Instead, I got Barb.

"Hey, what are you doin' home?" I asked.

"Wellllllll," she explained, "when I was driving to work, I took a wrong turn. And then I just decided to keep going."

Hey! Maybe that's what happened to my mojo!

~Stampin' hugs,

Further Adventures in FLora & Fauna ... Please Hold the Fauna

Last week, our intrepid hero ... no. Wait. Never mind. Greetings H-C-M's and welcome to another edition of FLora & Fauna Day!

Last week, I posted a photo of my future bananas ... well, guess what? The future is now ... for my banana tree at least. One week ago today, this ^ banana pod looked like THIS. And I'm sure you noticed that it looked like that in much sunnier weather ... today's pretty gray and gloomy. Anyway, what a difference seven days makes to a banana pod, huh?!?

This humongous pod is gonna give us a LOT of bananas ... it looks like we've got 33 of 'em already, and more than half of the pod hasn't popped yet. There's anywhere from 30 to 60 of the l'il yellow rascals still hidden away in the pod. It's really hard to know for sure just by looking ... up ... 20+ feet. But I DO know this much for sure: 60 bananas are about 53 too many for two people ... one of whom is not a banana-lover.

Of course, everyone down here grows their own bananas, so I don't even have anyone to dump gift them on! If any of you want some all-natural, organically grown, fresh bananas, c'mon down! But hurry; bananas aren't the best keepers, KWIM?

Now for my second FLora and (Hold the) Fauna presentation, allow me to introduce you to Mademoiselle Kitty:



Mme. Kitty is very shy ... and just started to bloom again after two long months of pouting. My orchids can be so temperamental! And it's not like I don't give 'em lots of water and orchid food, 'cuz I don't ... but I DO tell them I love 'em every time I push 'em outta my way. I kid ...

Suddenly, Mme. Kitty is throwing lots of teeny-tiny blossoms ... but she refuses to let me get a good photo of her. She's very shy as I mentioned. Anyway, here ^ she is in all her bright yellow splendor.

BONUS FLora!

For my third and final FLora & (Hold the) Fauna presentation, please allow me to introduce to you the LARGEST. FLORIDA. AVOCADO. EVER!




This is by far the largest homegrown avocado I've ever seen! For that matter, it's also the largest store-bought avocado I've ever seen. If it came from a store ... which it didn't ... but if it did, it would still be the largest store-bought avocado I'd ever seen.

This lovely Green Goddess measures a whopping 8 inches long, (more or less ...), by approximately 6 inches wide. It weighs over 2 pounds ... which is ... ummm ... HUGE ... by FL avocado standards, anyway.

Yup, you're lookin' at about a half gallon of Guacamole! And while I'm generally quite modest, I can tell you without fear of contradiction that I make THE. BEST. GUACAMOLE. EVER! It's a gift ... and yes, a burden ... but definitely true; I cannot tell a lie. About guacamole-making.

So, if you're planning on comin' down for some banana's, be sure to get here pronto for the Guacamole. Si, Senorita?

Well, boys and girls, that's our FLora & (Hold the) Fauna show for today. I'll be back tomorrow with a project for you to CASE ... provided I don't OD on Guacamole.

Thanks for swingin' by to see my FLora ... maybe next time I can alligator wrestle some FL fauna for you to see!

~Hugs,

Is That a Dead Fish Hangin' From My Tree, or is it Just Glad to See Me?

Hey everyone, welcome to FLora and Fauna Day! And may I be the first, and possibly only, person to wish you a very happy International Banana Festival day! Who knew?!?

Now tell me, doesn't that look just like a dead fish hangin' there? But it's not ... it's a newly hatched banana pod. And, since it is International Banana Festival day, I thought I'd show off my new, kinda-gross-lookin' banana pod!

Sooooooo, ummmmmmm, there ^ it is!



Now for my second FLora and Fauna Day presentation, allow me to introduce you to Wanda! Wanda is a Vanda orchid, which are known for their amazingly long roots ... which I totally forgot to photograph for you. Wanda's roots are white, pretty, and hang down about 3 feet or so.

Kewl roots aside, look closely at Wanda ... doesn't it look she's part flower/part bug?!? Seriously, look at those bugged-out eyes! Or is it just me seein' bugs? Hmm, I'll bet you're thinkin', "Yeah, I'll have whatever she's takin'," aren't you? See, that's one of the things that I love about you!

So, that's the show for today; I'll be back tomorrow with a project for you to CASE.

Thanks for 'swingin' by to admire Wanda and my future bananas!

~Hugs,

Hey, Wanna Meet My Kids?

This ^ is Babette; she's my oldest ...



And this l'il cutie ^ is Marjorie ... she's really startin' to blossom!



This ^ is Rain ... I named him after The Artist Formerly Known as Prince. See the purple rain on him?



This ^ is Ginger; she's bouncing back nicely from a terrible accident involving a giant tree frog.



This ^ smokin' hot redhead is Rosie ...



This ^ is Kitty; she's the baby of the family. Isn't she purty?!?!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy my baby pix. It's monsoon season down here so the kids are expressing their appreciation by throwin' lots of buds. As always, you can click on the images for a ginormous photo.

In other family news, the DH is really lovin' our new water bed! Me? I dunno; the bed is comfy but I feel we're drifting apart ...

~Hugs!

Reports of My Death Have Been

Somewhat Exaggerated ...

So, hello there boys and girls! Hope all is well in your corner of the world.

My keepers have decided to free me from my P.I.L (Portable Iron Lung) for a bit .. monthly maintenance and what not, so I thought I'd post a quick note here to say hello there!

When last we met here, I was happily (and healthily, lol), enjoying a visit with the darlin' DG-K's. Here's a pix for you to 'oooooohhh,' and 'ahhhhhhhhhhhhh,' and 'aren't they cute?' over:



Anyway, next thing I knew, I was confined to bed (as if I could have stayed awake even if I wanted to), spiking fevers, and coughing my brains out. Literally: what a mess!

So, at the moment, even with all this fancy doctorin' stuff, no one can tell me what's wrong. The best explanation (or my favorite anyway), is this: It's a hybrid bronchial pneumonia. Hybrid, that sounds kewl, right?!?

I'm not sure when I'll post again but I'm so grateful for all the well-wishes and 'hey, there's' I've received from you. And lots o' special thanks to Anne and Jewels ... they know why.

And I'm totally jonesin' for my studio so I expect to be creatin' stuff again soon!!!

Oh. And the "Portable" Iron Lung Machine? Not so portable ...

~Hugs,

Tally Me Bananas? Umm, About $20 Each ...

Due to popular demand ... okay, three people: a photograph of the Banana-Tree-That-Wouldn't-Bear-Fruit-Bearing-Fruit!

If you've been following along, I mentioned in an earlier post that our barren 8 year old banana tree had finally set fruit. After lakes full of water, a landfill's worth of compost, and enough banana tree fertilizer to feed a small country of banana trees, we finally have ... let's see ... looks like ten bananas!

I'm hoping that we get more, but using the current count, the bananas on this tree will have cost us approximately $200.00 ... or, $20.00 each. These better be some fine bananas!

Now, here's a photo of my banana tree's Momma:

WoWZa! Look at that big o'le bunch of bananas!

This tree was grown in Boynton Beach in about 3 square feet of soil ... well, sand ... and no compost, or fertilizer, had ever been added to this giant's diet.

We go strictly by the book on this banana-farming thang and I get 10 lousy bananas?!?

Well, no matter what surprises the fates have in store for me, I'm guessin' that banana tree farming isn't goin' be one of 'em!

Hope you're having a great weekend and thanks for stopping by to laff and point at my banana tree.

~Hugs,


EDITED TO ADD: That bush in the background with the red and orange flowers? That's hummingbird bait. Yah, I'm gettin' a lot of them, too ...

New Year's Revelation #1

So, everywhere I go, and I do mean everywhere, I see butterflies ... in every book I read, I find references to butterflies; every art project I begin, I see butterflies; every errand I run, there they are again: butterflies. Every movie I force myself to sit though, yup: butterflies.

They're in my garden, my mailbox, the screened (!) pool enclosure, the garage. Sometimes, and I'd really like to know how, I find 'em flitting around inside my locked car! I really mean it when I say that I see butterflies everywhere.

^This is a collage I created years ago, (I've greatly improved since then~well, I like to think so), on a vintage dictionary page. Note the page I've chosen for my masterpiece: "enigma." Wow, deep, huh? And, oh-so-subtle. But wait, what's that? Why looky there: it's a butterfly!

Here's a photo taken in my front yard: I swear to you, that seedling Ixora (a tropical bush a/k/a 'Jungle Flame,' 'Flame of the Woods,' and, my favorite 'cuz it has a nice jingle-ring to it, 'Jungle Geranium'), plant was in the ground less than ten minutes when:

Click on the photo and you'll be able to see it: a butterfly. To wit, a Monarch butterfly. And if you know anything about Monarch butterflies you know that they live, eat, sleep, procreate, and die on Milkweed plants. Milkweed is their thing; their one and only thing. They don't like Ixora plants; they like Milkweed. Apparently this particular Monarch didn't know that. Unless, of course, he/she/it was trying to tell me something.

I am in possession of approximately 21,809 photographs of butterflies that I've taken as they've intersected my life. Obviously, many thousands of my butterfly encounters have come and gone without being photographed. I even have photos of butterflies who've landed ON me ... and stayed ... long enough to be photographed from every perspective.

Once, a particularly friendly butterfly had to be physically removed from me so I could get on with my life; this butterfly (it was a Monarch ... I see lots of Monarch's), stayed glued to my shoulder for hours ... those pix are floatin' around somewhere on my hard drive; I'll find 'em and post 'em if anyone has any interest in seeing them. (Anyone except you, Nappy. Tuff love, baby.)

Naturally, all of these butterflies everywhere I turn has prompted me to believe that butterflies have some secret, special meaning for me. Meanings that assuredly were shadowy, vague, but, oh yes, definitely significant ... possibly even life-altering. I'd assigned those poor 'lil butterflies a huge responsibility.

Well, the time has come to set the butterflies free.

Therefore, I give you New Year's Revelation #1:

Butterflies aren't tryin' to tell me a damn thing: there's just a LOT of butterflies out there.