Sunday, July 22, 2012

Tropical wave & Tropical blooms

 

Good afternoon Folks ~ This morning I went out to work in my main garden, to finish what I had started a couple of weeks ago. I was going along, sweating buckets, then it lightly started to rain, and since it wasn’t thundering and lightening I continued to work, and it wasn’t so bad. I was getting a lot accomplished, then thunder happened, so I grabbed my tools and headed indoors.  Then the bottom fell out and we got some heavy rain and more thunder and lightening.

I just checked our weather because it’s raining again, and there is a tropical wave off FL that I didn’t even know about.  At least it’s not a hurricane.  I wasn’t able to mow this past week because of rain, then I worked Thurs-Sat, I thought about it this morning, but it lightly rained, and it is Sunday afterall.  It could wait another few days.  We’re supposed to have rain tomorrow too, then sunshiny skies starting Tuesday. Hopefully then, I can get sort of caught up with what I was doing, well at least make a dent in the overgrowth.

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DH worked in the caravan yesterday with more insulation work. This morning he wired another outlet, so that now the electrical is done. Hurray for that.

The photo above was from 1:30 p.m. it’s now 2:45.  I’ve been editing pictures to put in this post.  The wad of green has moved further north now.  I hear thunder off over the ocean, it is lightly raining here so far.

Water is heating for a cup of herbal tea, and we’ll split a humongous blueberry muffin. Our local Salvation Army thrift store gives out free bread. Each person is allowed 2 pkgs. We’ve happened to have been there on the right day the past couple of weeks, it’s never the same, so I’ve got bread in the freezer. Dinner rolls, muffins, rosemary/olive oil bread, bagels, and bear claws. This bread is usually on the last date of expiration for the store it had been in so they donate it to the SA. There is nothing wrong with it at all.

Now on with photos from the past couple of days.

First the latest caravan work.  DH almost has the insulation work done, then he can put up the wall paneling, which we will paint white. We’ve had the paneling in our stash, some we took off our own walls, because it was on the walls when we got here, and some we’ve picked up curbside.

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You can see in the left bottom corner in picture above and in the right hand corner in the picture below, the original tail lights. DH wanted to leave them open to the room instead of just covering them up. They do let in a little light, and they will be under the bench/bed that will be on that wall when we are all done.

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Here’s one of the tail lights from the outside.

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Here is a bit of insulation work over the stove area. You can see one of the pair of wrought iron dragons we have just outside the window here. We’ve had these since we had our antique shop which is about 17 years ago now. They are 8’ tall and about 3’ deep. We’re planning on mounting them to DH’s workshop north outside wall, over the two little arched windows that are there.  All in due time. These two dragons are from the early 1920’s, maybe earlier, and came off of some mansion in Palm Beach that was torn down. They are really cool looking. (These are for sale, we just haven’t advertised them yet.)

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DH did quite a bit of restoration on these as the wings were  pretty ragged out when we got them.

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Here is ‘Miss’ Tork. When she was a kitten she had these little markings that we thought were ‘fuzz nuts’ so we thought she was a he.  When we took her to be fixed we found out otherwise. She doesn’t know that her name is sort of masculine. We call her several names actually and she comes to them all.

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Here are more pics of the night blooming cereus cactus blooms. The third one is not getting any bigger looking like it might fall off, but these two are doing great and I’m excited. These blooms are huge and said to smell wonderful.  DH said the scent will probably be too much for him, as are other things that bloom at night. Some can be rather overpowering.

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Here we have the yellow walking iris.  What a wonderful plant. It bends over, touches the ground and roots come out and another plant is started.  It is loving all of this rain as are other things.

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Crepe myrtles are not tropical plants, but it is growing here in our tropical cottage gardens.

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Now we are inside the secret garden.  You can see the crepe upper right side. My shed’s door can be seen on other side of the bird bath. My washing machine is in there, and I store paper goods and other stuff in there.

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Here’s a view looking northwest. The caravan is on the other side of the hedge.

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That’s it for now. Hope you all have a nice week wherever you are, whatever you are doing. Give thanks for each new day, do the best you can with what you’ve got, God bless you.

FlowerLady Lorraine

21 comments:

Terra said...

Your garden is very pretty, lush and green, with the yellow pop of the iris, your magnificent dragons and little girl kitty.

Jane said...

I always thought you were a human marvel, Rainey, but this summer has given me new respect for all that you do in the heat. Those dragons are so cool! I like that you left the taillights in, your caravan is really coming along. Was outside cutting down the roses, as the contractor is coming to reside our house next week. What a prickly job!

Nancy J said...

Are you close to the coastline, to hear what is happening out at sea? Love the iris, stunning colour. Cheers, from Jean , we have rain, cold wind and a very grey sky in NZ

Gardener on Sherlock Street said...

I hope you're able to get all done you want between rains. The "cabin" is coming along nice. Those dragons are way cool. Wrought iron just give a place such "history."

Sunray Gardens said...

Still some cool blooms for you. That rain is a bonus as far as I'm concerned. Your cat is too cute and that's a neat pattern on her.

Cher Sunray Gardens

Kit said...

Great photos! I love the kitty. We just acquired two neighbor cats from across the street and they are so much fun and so young! They play and follow me around the yard all day and then they go home. Like having Grand kids!....LOL Your place is looking great! :) Kit

Rebecca said...

I really loved this post (and I think you know why)! Besides the beauty of your lush yard, the update of the caravan work made my day :)

Antique ART Garden said...

You can make some good moohla off those dragon accent pcs. List the with the terms goth, gothic, Renaissance, dragon, knight, armor, castle. Looking good, hot as hades here with sky-high humidity too. Take care, Gina

Lemon Verbena Lady said...

Wow, FL. You and DH have been busy. I'm jealous for that night blooming cerceus! Ours has never gone out on the patio and maybe that's why is has NEVER bloomed! Can't fault The Herbal Husband, but it would be nice to have it bloom once! Hope you dry out! I need to mow as well. Always something. Enjoy your week. xxoo Nancy

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Lorraine, I always enjoy reading your posts --and seeing your beautiful tropical home/yard.

You all are doing well with the caravan... Soon--it will be like BRAND NEW!!!!! Congrats.
Hugs,
Betsy

BernieH said...

Your garden is certainly loving the rain. That magnificent Yellow Walking Iris grows here too. It spreads so quickly during our wet season and I have to pull out so much of it! It is a fabulous looking thing though. Your Crepe Myrtles are looking lovely. So glad to hear there was no hurricane heading your way! Your caravan is starting to come together so well.

Lynn said...

What a nice post ~ the pictures of your garden are vibrant and always happy to see a caravan update. Great cat!!!

Andrea said...

Hi, now i can call you Lorraine, i remember it was always FlowerLady in the past. I am laughing at the cat who responds to many names, maybe she doesn't know she is a cat! Maybe she thinks she is a person! We always say jokes like that with our pets. Regarding that Cereus, i am excited to see when it opens. I have waited for 3 yrs in our neighbor's Epiphyllum and i had a vigil near it to follow the opening. It was amazing. I posted it here:http://www.pureoxygengenerators.blogspot.com/2012/07/encounter-with-nights-queen.html

Dianne said...

Lovely post and pics as always. How neat that you have a caravan that you're restoring! I will look forward to seeing pics of the finished projects. Have a great day!

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Love looking a your garden. Some plants so different then what I have here in Northern Tennessee.
Everything looks beautiful.
With the dry weather, heat and beetles my beautiful garden is not in good shape at the moment.
But next Spring it rise again.

tina said...

Leaving the tailights open is way cool. It is almost like skylights. I love your cereus. I have one but have never seen it bloom in the 7 years I've had it. I will be watching for it though.

Susan said...

Your garden is definitely looking tropical and no wonder with all the rain (hurray) we're getting. Those dragons are cool looking!

GRACE PETERSON said...

Lorraine, Your garden photos are way cool but I had to linger longer at Tork. What a cutie pie. Our two kittens have the same coloring so they'll probably look just like Tork when they grow up. So sweet. I love that she comes to whatever you call her. :)

Have a great weekend.

Intentional Living Homestead said...

I just came across your blog...so glad I did. What gorgeous photos you have taken. I will add you as a follower so I can get to know you better through blogland.

Blessings,
Connie

sweetbay said...

Tork is so cute!

I know what you mean about the heat and humidity. It's really sapping to one's energy.

Marti said...

Your garden is so beautiful. I love that dragon too. Your Tok likes to stretch out like our Cat, so cute. I never would have thought of cactus in Florida. How does it handle all the rain? Btw, can you send some of that rain our way? lol