Photography

[curlyoak]

This is Dendrobium wassellii. A species from the northern tip of Australia. That is tropical Australia. Fragrant. Growing on a tree near the street. It attracts a lot of people when blooming. My climate is a lot like tropical Australia. There it never goes below 50. I must protect it when it gets colder here. Not often.

[curlyoak]

On 4/25/2025 at 5:34 PM, Tpt life said:

Yes. Job offered and accepted, waiting on HR for next steps. 

where in Florida?

[Tpt life]

On 5/22/2025 at 5:31 AM, curlyoak said:

where in Florida?

Sebring!

[curlyoak]

On 5/22/2025 at 6:09 AM, Tpt life said:

Sebring!

about 2 hours drive.  If you are in the area stop by and I'llv give you an orchid tour and buy you a beer.

What kind of work do you have lined up in Sebring?

[Tpt life]

On 5/22/2025 at 3:00 PM, curlyoak said:

about 2 hours drive.  If you are in the area stop by and I'llv give you an orchid tour and buy you a beer.

What kind of work do you have lined up in Sebring?

I am a teacher. I took a middle school band job. 

[curlyoak]

Weather wise we are coming into the worst. Summers are hot and humid and hotter in places like Sebring even hotter away from the coasts. Try to find a local produce stand and find some mangoes. Warning. If you taste a no good mango dont assume they are all the same. When you find a good mango you will know it. And mangoes are my salvation for the hot and humid. Valencia Pride is the best mango I ever tasted. I have a big tree. Last year was a bumper crop. None this year. I know where there is a tree that is unattended with permission to pick. I must mail them 2 to Upper Ny. Fair trade! And I know of other Valencia Pride trees with fruit. 

[drzaius]

Here's what spent the day and most of the night right beside our front door. We have a large urban deer population and have had multiple births either in or just outside our yard in the back alley. 

Though they have an appetite for the landscaping, the deer are a delight to have hanging around.

[Tom King]

Mama is not far away.  She'll be back for it.  They leave them and stay only far enough away soon after they are born to distract any threat that shows up.

When I was little, my Dad picked one up out of the woods and brought it home, not knowing any better, thinking it had been abandoned.  It stayed around our house, drinking out of a bottle when it was little and eating out of our hands when it got bigger, until it was full grown with a big rack.  It left when the time came for it to have a job to do.

[Tpt life]

Ok Curly, this is the truck they gave us. Anyone believe in signs??

[Beechwood Chip]

Is that a giant mosquito?  On a "come visit Florida" type poster?

[Tpt life]

I think that is a hummingbird moth. 

[curlyoak]

That is the ghost orchid. Endangered and aggressively protected. No leaves on the plant. Just roots show, like the truck, and the flower when in season. Grows in a large swamp in Southwest Florida. An excellent true story and a  book on the subject is The Orchid Thief. Couldn't put it down.

The mosquitos add to the protection of the plant. They are thick in the swamp. Lots of stagnant water. It takes a lot of gumption to hike into that environment.

[curlyoak]

Nicknamed the scorpion orchid because the top pedal curves like a scorpio tail stinger. The botanical name is Arachnis. Which is latin for spider. I think. Regardless the flower is easy on the eyes...

[curlyoak]

In the front part of the property. Brassavola 'Little Stars' a primary hybrid, meaning both parents were species. Orchid species are the oldest living things on the planet. Species come from the wild and are millions of years old. The species, not any one plant. 

There are around 24 brassavola species. They all have the nickname Lady of the Night. Because they have a sweet and spicy aroma. Only at night because  their pollinators were nocturnal. So pedestrians walking past at night this time of year get a pleasant aroma.

The various species of Brassavola are from the warm parts of the Americas. Including the Bahamas and Caribbean.

The flower is average looking for orchids, but its night time tricks of sweet and spicy make the Lady of the Night desirable world wide.

[curlyoak]

My morning walk had a dense fog.

[Sergio Escudero]

Just a photo of me posing with a shield I made last year for a client.

Canon 500D, Canon 50mm F 1.4 at F 4.5, 1/250s, ISO 100.

[Tpt life]

I now live close enough to the Starlink launches to have fun chasing images. 

[Coop]

On 12/9/2025 at 3:39 PM, Tpt life said:

I now live close enough to the Starlink launches to have fun chasing images. 

Wow! I’ve gotten spoiled with the iPhone camera but that is real neat! 

[legenddc]

Was at the Botanic Gardens in DC yesterday and I know many of you are fans of orchids. 

[Tpt life]

I moved to Florida, and now all three of my phals are putting out spikes. I am starting to plan to branch out to other species groups now. 

[Tpt life]

The Cattleya has started to open. 

[curlyoak]

On 2/22/2026 at 12:52 PM, Tpt life said:

The Cattleya has started to open. 

Do you have a name tag for that Cattleya?

[Tpt life]

Cattleya maxima- “Barbara” @curlyoak

[curlyoak]

On 2/22/2026 at 7:00 PM, Tpt life said:

Cattleya Maxima- “Barbara”

Cattleya maxima is a species from Peru. Mine is called the alba form.

fyi. if the plant is a species use a small m in maxima which indicates species. Upper case M indicates hybrid

[Tpt life]

On 2/23/2026 at 5:32 AM, curlyoak said:

fyi. if the plant is a species use a small m in maxima which indicates species. Upper case M indicates hybrid

 

I assume hybrid, as this came from Ecuador and a famous hybridizer. Now that I look again, the m is small on the paperwork.