1 June 2024
Welcome to Hurricane Season (and I don’t mean the University of Miami football team). It’ll be an interesting 6 months.
There has been a momentous development in my recovery from breast cancer! I managed to trim my finger nails the way I used to for the first time in over 6 months! I no longer have to place the clippers on a table top, maneuver my nail under the clipper and then press down with my opposite thumb. Can trimming my toe nails be far behind?
It’s been a breezy day and this morning’s walk was really nice. I managed 1.4 miles this morning and got to have conversations with Ivan and Gigi and Chris and Tucker.
As you know by now, today is wash day and clean house day. However, before I attempted any of that, I had to head to Publix to pick up two prescriptions. It seems stopping by a pharmacy is a daily occurrence.
Once back, I tackled changing the linen on the bed, starting the first of two washes, and began to clean a little around the house. A little after noon, John arrived with two subs from Boulevard Subs. They are a favorite of his and after eating half of one for lunch, they have become a favorite of mine. They are much better than Publix or Subway.
On my walk this morning I came across an unusual bromeliad. It’s called Flaming Torch and I think you can see why.
Florida is rich is bromeliads with 16 native species and 2 native hybrids. That doesn’t include pineapples which people plant the top from when they purchase a pineapple. Probably the most well known bromeliad is Spanish Moss (Tillandsia useneiodes). The flowers in the photo of Flaming torch are just beginning to open at the top of the spike and really don’t look too much like flowers. What they don’t have in flower appeal they make up in color appeal. It’s native to South America and the Caribbean and obviously has been brought into the states.
Most bromeliads, like Spanish Moss, are epiphytes (growing on another plant) and yes, Spanish Moss does produce flowers. The pineapple is said to be terrestrial but I never plant them in soil around the house. I just put them in an empty flower pot and it seems to like that just fine.
If you notice the leaves, they are designed to catch water and detritus from anything above them. Because they do retain water at the base of the leaves, mosquitoes love laying their eggs in the water. If you have bromeliads in your yard, you certainly are going to have mosquitoes. You can combat them by spraying a little cooking oil down into the leaves which breaks the surface tension of the water and drowns the mosquito larvae.
I have no plans Sunday except my morning walk, breakfast, and then goofing off.
Stay tuned!
