The Banana Forest

| FlowerAlley

Mr. Flower brought one banana tree into the marriage over three decades ago.

Over the years this banana has multiplied.

Now, we have a banana forest.

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We have learned some banana tricks.

We used to dig them all up and haul them all into the basement in the fall.

Now we enclose them in a circle of wire fence and fill around them with leaves or straw.

This is the easy way to over-winter a banana tree.

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Instead of digging them up and carrying them in and out, we just enclose it and leave it.

Thus the banana forest has developed.

Each family of pup trees is circled around the dead mama tree.

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I enjoy standing in the banana forest while the wind blows.

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I pretend I am on an island in the tropics.

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My sister jokes that we should rent it out for wedding photos.

For those folks who can’t make it to Hawaii for the big day.

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ALOHA from FLORA

 

 

He’s Cute! Can I Pet Him?

| FlowerAlley

I found this fuzzy baby munching on some Lucifer leaves.

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He looks so much like a tiny Barley bunny, that I wanted to pick him up.

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Good thing I know better.

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This sweet little puss caterpillar also has another name.

Asp caterpillar.

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Megalopyge opercularis, wooly slug, asp caterpillar

Megalopyge opercularis/Flannel moth caterpillar/wooly slug

If you must pet it, you will get stung.

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He’s cute, but he’s mean.

FLOWER

The Cactus and the Moon

| FlowerAlley

We had a big day yesterday here in the USA.

A total eclipse traveled across the country from Oregon to South Carolina.

My family drove down to an empty field in South Carolina to experience it

with the crickets, cicadas and roosters.

I wanted to see what nature would do.  People are too noisy.

Insects and birds reacted as if on cue.  It was lovely.

The adventure did not end when we got home.

My husband’s cactus knew it was a new moon, too.

After thirty years of waiting and one “dud bud” last August,

it finally bloomed. It had one big ruffly white flower.

I saw it was about to open last night, while I was hanging laundry in the dark.

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Mr. Flower and I teamed up to produce these photos at 5:30 AM.

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He stood on a bucket and I held the flashlight.

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We enjoy the simple things here. The sun disappearing, hearing panicked roosters screaming, hanging laundry in the dark, a flower blooming before dawn…

You know, the real stuff.

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Coffee Cups Caterpillar Crapper

| FlowerAlley

This is NOT how I intended this to turn out.

I have been very pleased with the new placement of Colocasia escuelenta/ Coffee cups/ West Indian Kale near the small fish pond.

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I intended to write a post about moving plants until you and the plant are both happy.

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Well, now there is a third party involved.

The oak tree above is full of munching little caterpillars.

If you look up, you see naked limbs.

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If you look down, you see feces.  Now the water in the cups has the color of coffee. Yuck!

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So thus the name of the post, in honor of Thomas Crapper of Chelsea. The owner of an early lavatory manufacturer in London.

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My OCD self keeps flushing the leaves with water.  No pun intended.

FLOW

 

Matchmaker, Matchmaker

| FlowerAlley

Matchmaker, Matchmaker

make me some seeds

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dust from my kind

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you do the deed.

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Matchmaker, Matchmaker

fly through the blooms

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and make me a perfect match.

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For pistil make it some pollen

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For stamen we’ll need something with wings

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Bee, well you bring the pollen

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and I’ll give you nectar for every fling.

Matchmaker, Matchmaker

make me some seeds

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dust from my kind

you do the deed

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Day after day I sit here all alone

find some pollen to fert. my ov’.

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FLOWER on the Roof

Lessons from a Butterfly

| FlowerAlley

I have been watching this one for days.

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I have been wondering how it could possibly fly with that tattered wing.

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It has been feeding on the butterfly bush along with all the perfect butterflies.

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I watched it fly this morning.

No bobbing, swooping or gliding like the normal butterfly flight.

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It was rapidly beating its wings, no meandering.

This one was all business about staying up and going somewhere.

Thank you sister. You are today’s inspiration.

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FLOWER can fly again, too.

Crab Spider Cafe’

| FlowerAlley

What a lovely spot to wait for lunch!

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This Crab Spider needs no web.  She is waiting for her food to be delivered.

She patiently sits inside this Hoya bloom

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for an unsuspecting moth to stop by for a snack.

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Then the moth becomes a meal.

Seems like the moth should notice the carcass dangling below.

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Sneaky spider!

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FLOWER

My Three Passions

| FlowerAlley

My three passions are purple, red and wild.

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These flowers are so complex.

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I am fascinated by their structure.

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The insects love them, too.

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The Hummer loves the red.

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FLOWER loves her vines.

If I Had Wings

| FlowerAlley

If I had wings, I would have two sets.

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They would be shiny, but sturdy.

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The veins would be silver.  The film between would be clear as glass.

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I would be able to fly up, down, sideways, backwards and also hover.

My wings would work in tandem and independently, so I could do tricks in the sky.

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I would fly fast and fly far until I found a lovely garden full of flowers.

Then I would land on something pointy and pose for pictures.

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I would smile with my chitinous teeth

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and look at the camera with my 30,000 lenses.

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FLOWER dreams of being a dragon fly.