My carnivorous plants are continuing to improve, too....
.....even the cute little volunteer mushroom is maturing nicely. And if you enlarge this picture, you can see that my sundew caught itself a couple gnats...sweet!
And the lithops are coming along nicely, although they look funny. According to a website: "Lithops should be left totally dry throughout winter and spring. During this period the plant will generate a new body (or pair of bodies). The new body will consume the moisture and nutrients of the previous body as it completes its growth. This process should be visible by early spring. Throughout the winter and spring keep the plants cool but avoid freezing. Watering can commence once the remains of the old plant body are shriveled and drying." Cool!
Especially since indoor plants are all I get right now. More snow...
...and a cardinal! Sorry it's blurry, but it was taken through a window and I was excited! Many of you see these on a regular basis, but not me. This is only the third cardinal I've seen in 9 years living in this house. I see them in town, so I don't know if there are too many raptors out here for their liking, or what.
Despite the melting, I still have plenty of snow on the ground to drive birdy customers to my feeders...
.....even some seed heads left (I don't think birds eat sedum seeds).
Finally back to work after several days feeling "froggy" like this....
...I hope that's it for illness, cuz' when spring finally explodes onto the scene, I need to be ready!
16 comments:
beautiful hyacinth! And that cardinal! How lucky of you to have them in you backyard!
Yes, you had a good excuse. Your hyacinth is quite pretty and I bet it does smell like spring.
I'll add you to the list of links to bloom day posts on my blog!
Carol, May Dreams Gardens
Thank you Gintoino!
Carol-Thank you!
That totally makes me want to acquire some lithops! Whoa! They eat themselves! Talk about recycling and zero waste...we could all learn something I guess...
Sorry about the vertigo, Lisa - but like the froggy photo.
Hyacinths in or out are lovely - a hot spell ended mine too fast but they were beautiful for a little while.
I wonder about your lack of cardinals, too - we see them all the time here in Austin, but they were fairly common in Illinois. They liked evergreens and you've got those.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Katie-Heh, I never thought about the "recycling" quality of lithops' regeneration...cool.
Annie-Wow, "hot spell"?! Sounds good to me right now, but not if it spoils my bulb show. I'm stumped about the cardinal thing, and I may email our local Audubon chapter and see if they have any ideas. The seed I put out should bring them around-black oil sunflower, safflower, and cracked corn...so I dunno. I'll post it if I find out anything.
Ugh, vertigo. My mom and sis get that, but so far, it's passed me by. Hope my luck holds. I've seen what they go thru, so I feel for you, my friend.
I LOVE the smell of hyacinths, it's one of my favorites. Like Annie, we had a 90 degree day and that was it for the hyacinths.
Your carivorous plants are coming along nicely! Good job!
The lithops' are totally cool. I may have to get me one. :)
I remember Lithops from the houseplant craze of the 70s, but can't remember if we ever kept them alive long enough to see the regeneration thing. I doubt it. Anyhow, that's so cool!
Carnivorous plants and lithops--the two weirdest groups of plants.
I think sundews are the prettiest carnivorous plants. Did you see the carnivorous plants postage stamps from a few years ago? The sundews stamp was the best. http://www.wmscnet.com/3528-31paneof20.jpg
I didn't realize lithops went through that weird growth period. It doesn't look so much like a rock.
Vonne-Sorry to hear about your family being afflicted with the vert too...I could ALMOST wish for migraines instead. I just hate dizzy with nausea...I may never ride a rollercoaster again. (Sucks, cuz' I really used to enjoy them.) I never realized that heat would have such an effect on bulbs, just like a freeze can. I guess that's one arguement for picking handfuls to display in the house. You absolutely should get some lithops, oh Cactus Guru...they would flourish for you! Heck, when they're done "recycling" why don't I just send you some of mine?
Entangled-That was odd...I was replying to Vonne at the same time you and Chuck were commenting. I seem to remember wanting lithops way back, and I think my mom said they were "too expensive" just to shut me up. (Poor mom, she tried to shut me up a LOT ;-)
Chuck-Oh yea, I collected the carn stamps! You're right, at this stage they look less like rocks and more like an alien birth in progress.
That's one handsome cardinal! Down here we have them all year round and I love watching them. Let us know what your local Audubon Society says -- I know our population of blue jays was decimated by West Nile virus but they may be slowly coming back.
Sorry to hear about the vertigo. It's dreadful. You might want to consider (if you haven't already done so) seeing an ear, nose and throat doc who specializes in dizziness and imbalance. There are a variety of causes, some of which are easily "fixed." (Disclosure -- I work for ENT docs who treat vertigo.) It would be dreadful to be too vertiginous to enjoy digging in the dirt in spring. Hope you feel better.
Thank you Marion! No news on the cardinals yet. As for the vertigo...I have an ENT appointment next week. :) Hopefully they can help me figure this out...maybe I'll need an MRI of my IAC'S (heh, that's what I do for a living). You're right, spring's coming and I need dirt therapy! ;-)
Ooh! I would love a lithop. Sounds like you and I will be keeping the USPS busy this spring. heh
I've been collecting baby cacti for you. They're tiny and so cute. The good thing about shipping cacti is they don't have to have dirt...makes for lighter boxes. :)
Vonne-Heh...the way our government has been performing, I think they NEED our help...if only we could afford it!
No kidding..... sigh.
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