I love Frosty mornings.

It frosted this week and it was beautiful (photos below). What is really nice in central Floria is that any day beginning with frost will turn out to be sunny, calm and warm. Once again that was the case.

There was no damage to anything in the garden including tomatoes, beans and peppers. Just think, we will be harvesting green beans on new years day. The broccoli has been fantastic along with the squash and beets. Thanks to mosaic mom I get to feast on the most flavorful dinners imaginal several times a week. Thank God we both love vegetables and have some ability to grow our own - usually far more than we can eat.

Today we planted some new cauliflower plants and new broccoli are not far behind. Of course the weather could be too cold or hot for the next crop. That is why you must always enjoy any gardening successes --- we are doing a lot of enjoying right now.

Early morning sunlight beginning to shine on the frosty grass. 

<

Ahh...frost on the broccoli. It really takes the flavor to new heights. 

It was a beautiful frosty morning on Tuesday. No damage to plants --- just magnificant. 

Oh Brother............

We got Mindescape's car ('99 Nissan Sentra) checked out this week. It really is amazing that this car had NO work for 6+ years -- other than tires, brakes and batteries. Thanks to George it should be good for another 6 years. Thanks to technology things have changed for the better. This could not have happened 30 years ago.

Other than that nothing is happening. Oh yes. I dinged Mosaic Mom's car on the gate today. Oh Brother do I feel stupid -- that is because I tend to be stupid. Of course Mosaic Mom is unreal and did not even get upset -- she really is precious!!! But due to my amazing auto body skills it will be fixed. Plus we will repaint the bumpers where she got hit last year. So I hope to turn a negative into a positive here. Yea "Z Shop".

My sculpture work has been not good. I guess it is "Art Block". Will keep trying though.

WOW....

I sure had a great day yesterday. Mosaic Mom and Mindesecape were great to be with and that was what counted. It was chilly but with my new stocking hat and scarf it was hardly noticed. After working in the chill all day today now it is time to blog wearing my nice new sweat shirt and pants. The outside work involve sharpening all my old drill bits with the new drill doctor. Always wanted one of those and by gosh it really works. Soon there will be holes in everything around here.......notjust my underwear.

Tomorrow's plans include starting some new type of flower sculpture since we got some plastic up around the outer walls to keep the cold wind out. The broccoli looks awesome as do the cucumbers, beans and tomatoes. Sure hope it doesn't freeze tonight.

Plus, I heard someone caught pompano in the surf a couple of days ago. May have to get the fishing poles oiled up tomorrow also. A great end to the year that is for sure. Happy days to all.

I hope everyone has a Merry and Peaceful Christmas.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. See you next year as I am going on repose for the next 10 days. 

Here is one of three plastic rooting tents we use in the research house. They heat up more than the surrounding air and do not require misting which eliminates diseases. We water maybe once a week. In the summer we drape with additional shade material that you see laying on the roof. It really works great for several different genera of foliage plants. 

Here is an inside view of various plants rooting in the plastic tent house. 

Here are some happy Anthurium flowers that are in season today. 

Here are some more Anthuriums. 

It may be only December but we are thinking ahead to next year's pineapple crop. Hey, they are looking pretty good. 

Getting crowded in the research greenhouse again. May have to start thinning out. Sure is fun though to be in there though. 

Enough of this art stuff. It is time to eat and the lettuce in the greenhouse is looking crisp today. 

Another masterpiece is finished.....

Today I finished the flower sculpture for my mother. It is approximately 42 inches high, 21 inches wide and 15 inches deep. This one was quite a tedious project due to the painting and the flower structure.

I am satisfied with how it turned out -- of course they is always room for improvement. It was painted black so the cut outs would show better. They turned out better than welding beads as has been done previously.

This sculpture has no name yet. Sending it away will be hard as I tend to bond with this silly things. Anyway it was fun to work on for 3 weeks and I hope mom likes it. If not --- I will be glad to give it a home.

Hooray....I finished the metal flower sculpture for my mother today.... Decided to paint it flat black to accentuate the lines....The little bird trademark saved the day.... Packing and shipping should be another interesting project.  

Here is a closer view of the flower.  

Here comes a garden photo update. First off, the broccoli is happy now that it is cooler. Won't be long to yum yum..... 

Chllly and rainy today. That should help Mosaic Mom's broccoli get happy. 

It all started with Camellias.

My father grew camellias in Oregon. The original stock plants were grown in the ground in a neat glass greenhouse. To kiss up to the nuns I would take a flat of freshly picked flowers to school occasionally (this was when I first realized that a horticultural career could have its benefits). They really were beautiful. So seeing these plants flower here bring back memories. Camellias are cool...............so was my dad.!!!!

C. sasanqua again.  

Still on the C. sasanqua kick. This photo is from this morning. 

Monday..................

Things are going pretty well actually. Did some more work on my steel flower sculpture for my mom over the weekend. It is going to be ok I think. This one will be painted flat black since the trial pieces looked good in black. It may get done this week or next --- can't fight it you know. Photos will be presented upon completion. Shipping is another issue...............

All is quiet at work. The greenhouse is full and the plants look really good. Maybe we have figured out how to grown these aroids afterall. My first annual report has been turned in and the second one is not due until February. We have to go to campus next Monday all day to hear a seminar on grant writing. That should be great(just kidding)................

At home, the garden is doing really well and photos will be published soon. We have beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant (yes eggplant), lettuce (9 kinds) and the awesome broccoli crop is almost ready to harvest. There is also the dozen butternut squash from work. Oh boy, how lucky can you get..............

The Camellia sasanqua were flowering today at work. They are always a nice pinch of color this time of year. 

That thing sure was big...Note the pvc pipes on top that are used to slide it under wires. Quite a cost difference there. I like big.......... 

Took this photo by mistake. Maybe it is a closeup of a rainbow -- probably not.