wow, where have I been loyal blog readers

so much is going on and I need to catch you up

first last month

a friend's daughter got married on the beach in St. Petersburg

actually they got married here on the lawn, the hotel was on the beach

it was lovely, everything was well thought out

the music was good

steel drum for before

and great band after for dancing

the hourdourves wonderful

and the dinner excellent

oh and of course the young couple were adorable

as were her parent's

a great evening with my dates!

 

then a couple weeks later

we celebrated Beth's 28th Birthday

with a bar-b-que in a nice shady state park

complete with presents

and big bubbles

 

then 2 weeks later we celebrated Em's 10th birthday

this is the picture when we got to the park in the rain

before we moved the party to their house

and things starting looking up

we had games

this one is a good one, we use to play it at her mom's parties

there are 2 teams competing

the object is to take a balloon, run to the little chairs

sit down on the balloon until it pops

jump up and tag the next person on your team

who then does the same thing

first team to pop all their balloons wins

I wish I had gotten a photo of their faces when the balloon pops

they had a 3 legged race

it is a wonder no one hurt themselves

(do only grandma's think of things like that?)

and of course a pinata

run by the boys

picking up the spoils

she got so many nice gifts

and handmade cards

we all agreed, it was an awesome party

 

wait, there's more

Miss Em in a school chorus concert

that's her right in the first row, center of photo

they sang, The Star Spangled Banner and We Celebrate America

they also sang, Free at Last, an African American spiritual,

A Song of Peace and the last one was Adios Amigos

kind of covers it

Em and her good friend Carla

still more

there was a science fair at Em's school

there she is in front of her project

here was her "question"

then she and her mom built a solar oven and collected data

are you still with me, good

because this is the best photo yet

Em getting 2 awards at school

one for being on the honor roll

the other for something called Think Win Win

we are SO proud of her

carrots from their garden

so stay tuned

this is shaping up to be a great summer

next up Kayaking the Estero River

and at Kayaking with the kids at Indian Mound Park for Mother's Day

then we will be almost caught up......

one of my very favorite authors died yesterday

Carlos Fuentes

some of his books are amazing and wonderful

these are my favorites

The Orange Tree, Burnt Water, The Years With Laura Diaz

(he is best known for The Old Gringo

because it was made into an American movie, though it was a great book too)

he was not just a novelist, he was an intellectual in the public arena

he explored the relationship between the ancient fathers and mothers of modern Mexico

the Spanish, the Indians and the Mestizo's

his writing included political as well as literary commentary

he was creative about where Mexico had been

and vocal about where it should be going

he said, "The imagination exists and social commentary exists.

They are not at war with each other."

it is a shame my Spanish will never be good enough

for me to read him in the language he wrote in

but happy to be able to read him at all

he has been a great inspiration in my thinking and writing

I love Mexico and he has tempered my understanding of her

and he is muy guapo, no?

caliente!

view from the bridge

Saturdays Super Moon

as people were calling it

we wanted to find a place to see it rise

we went to the bridge that goes out to the beach

highest point around

Florida - is flat, flat, flat

we got there a few minutes too late to see it come up

(that's the fishing pier next to the bridge)

the sunset on the other side was nice too

it gave the moon a nice color

 a nice glow on the water

that only got better

oh and did I mention it was still 80 degrees

with a nice breeze off the Gulf

why do people say they don't like Florida....



Emily Elizabeth

When she was BORN we were so adorned

When she was ONE she had just begun

When she was TWO she was still very new

When she was THREE she was cute as could be

When she was FOUR we played on the floor

When she was FIVE happy to be alive

When she was SIX pancakes she mixed

When she was SEVEN she’d been sent by heaven

When she was EIGHT we treasured our fate

When she was NINE we were glad she was mine

Now she is TEN and our best friend!

April 30, 2012

last week, camping at the Koreshan settlement

(now Koreshan State Park)

I spent one early morning

taking photos of the more than 50 marked plants and trees

the Koreshan settlement had extensive gardens,

and an advanced knowledge of horticulture 

 the gardens became a kind of plant zoo,

where plants that were brought in from all over the world

 

this is a historic photo showing the Washingtonian Palms

that lined the main drive in the 1920's

another historic photo of the tea house

that looks really cool

nothing looking like this is left

the first tree on the tour is this huge old swamp mahogany

you can identify it by it's peeling bark

it is of the eucalyptus species, Eucalyptus robusta, from Australia

this one is hard to see, it is

a strawberry guava, Psidium cattleianum, from Brazil

small trees with reddish bark

considered an invasive exotic plant and not to be propagated

the orchid tree, Bauhina variegata, from India

has pink flowers that resemble an orchid

also called a camels foot orchid for the shape of the leaves

many of these small to medium trees have spread throughout the settlement

 this is a night blooming cereus, Hylocereus undatus, from South America

it is the vine like cactus that is growing around the trunk of a native sabal palm

large white flowers last only one night

but the plant can bloom all summer

that would be worth camping in the heat and bugs this summer to check out....

the sabal palm, Sabal palmetto, a Florida native

is the state tree of Florida

also called the cabbage palm

very common in the wild, along roads and in vacant lots

one of my favorites

the crepe myrtle, Lagerstroemis indica, from Asia

the guide says that in the summer it has crepe-paper like flowers that last for months

another reason to visit this summer

these arborvitae lined either side of the main walkway to the planetary court

now there are a few left

Thuja orientalis, from China but naturalized in Florida

many have recently been replanted as depicted in old photos

this is all that is left of a very old eucalyptus

Eucalyptus tereticornis, from Australia

often called the mahogany gum

at one time it formed an archway over the path leading east

that would have been something to see

the mulberry, Morus rubra, a Florida native

many were planted to serve as a silk worm habitat

by Gustav Damkohler the original owner who stayed on with the group

this is a fish tale palm, Caryota mitis

a typical understory plant in South East Asia

the very cool, sausage tree, Kigelia pinnata is from Africa

another Florida native, the spanish bayonet, Yucca aloifloia

lots of these growing near the old bakery

this is the last remnant of an old pecan tree

Carya illinoinensis, which is native to the US but uncommon in southern Florida

it was part of a multi species fruit and nut tree orchard that existed here

in the early 1900's

the ear tree, Enterolobium contortisiliquum, from the West Indies

called such as it is bare in winter except for a few ear shaped pods

a nitrogen-fixing tree in the legume family

the photo does not do justice to this lovely little red flower

called the red silk cotton tree, Bombax ceiba for the East Indies and Southern Asia

I am thinking this is enough for one sitting

so

to be continued

remember there are over 50 special plants in the Koreshan gardens!

I love the old photos

this is sister Barbara, April 11, 1938

also admiring the plants