2-26-10....The last frost...+...Surf Fishing Primer

There was a light frost at my house this morning.............Not the kind that would injure or kill plants but annoying nevertheless.......great for cauliflower and broccoli though............

What a winter this has been......nothing compared to "up north" of course.......but it has been a monster by our standards.....

Surf fishing was pretty good Wednesday...........we kept busy most of the day with 35+ whiting hauled in.........the water was nice and clean but cold..........about 55 degrees...........the weather was not pretty but it was a fun day......we need another 10 degrees before the species caught will be more variable......

Off to the greenhouse now to play..........

Back to Work......This Time for Sure............

I am on it today...........have gone over two papers for publication............this included general editing and adding new upgraded plant photos.......that took quite a while.....Above is one of the photos that was not used so it is ok to put it here......It is 3 views of the new Frilly Philly heartleaf philodendron.....

I am also an author on another manuscript that received its final acceptance.........That is good stuff ....................just need to keep the focus going.............yeah...........

Wait...........the sun is shining and it is warm outside...........it this Florida.........? To hell with work ........bag the career stuff.............I think I will go surf fishing tomorrow............YEAH that is more like it............

Monday Hangover........

Finally got back into a home front rythum yesterday.............

Put a wheel on our gate......(drilling, pounding, cutting and welding).....ahhhhhhh.....
Moved a big trellis in the greenhouse...........
Mowed grass (weeds)........
Raked weeds......
Watered the landscape plants (it was a legal day to do that)......
Fertilized a few garden plants.........
Filled the dumpster with stuff....(mosiac mom helped major here)....
Sprayed weeds in the yard.......
Fed the birds.......
Watered the birds.......
Petted the cat.......
Harvested cauliflower and broccoi.........ate all of the same.......Damn, it was good..........
Added water to golf cart batteries...

Today I have not done so much.......
tired........
sore........
' have had 2 extra CROC gums and still no movement.......
wa....waaaaaa.........whaaaaaaaaaaa..............
Yep...........it's Monday...........

Surf Fishing Memories................

Between the weather, travel and work stuff I may never get to surf fishing this year..........So at least I can look at some old photos and happy days past.........Notice the blue sky, the lack of winter clothing and of course all the pretty fishes......I still can do that if the crap in the first sentence clears up.....here is hoping.........

btw.......nice work Helen.......there must be some way to use your computer skills to promote my new plants.....like one short video per cultivar.....hmmmm......

Anyway, just another thought..............

Florida the Cold and Windy State.........Actually...

I went to Oregon for a few days and the weather was what I expected...........dark and damp with a light misty rain and little or no wind......(photo below)......pretty comfortable actually......

Came home and the Florida weathers was worse actually...........COLD with a howling west wind........It was actually warmer in Oregon than Florida for most of the days I was gone.........This weather is awful.....they say it is the second coldest February ever actually...........looks like we will have to move to S. Dakota to warm up.............we are coming lil' Mindescape................beware.........actually.........

This is a pathetic blog actually............just like the Florida weather this winter.........fortunately the broccoli and cauliflowers are producing like crazy............YEAH........actually.....

Out of Town......

Plantdaddy is out of town for the next week.
Going to look for warm weather and sunny skies.
Why?
Because Florida is - the Cloudy and Cold State.
I may report when I return.

Florida Winter Garden..........

It has been a wet, cold and nasty winter in central Florida this year...........
But it has been a good year for broccoli, cauliflower and onions........the freezes did not bother any of them.........
This how they looked yesterday in Mosaic Moms garden......There is a pile of good eating there..........
They taste even better than they look.........nothing beats cauliflower picked at 4:00 pm and eaten at 4:15 pm the same day.....getting hungry just looking at the photo........you have to love a women that can grow vegetables like this.........and she cooks them even better.............YEAH...

It just could not cool off last fall and now it just can't warm up this winter...go figure.....

Of course it is great cauliflower and broccoli weather.....and no fat birds seem to bother those crops.

The past Saturday the Z boys showed up after a 5-month break due to hunting season....See the Z shop in its heyday below....
It was nice to have the boys back...........WHY....?.... Well, they fixed the greenbean's headlight and repaired a leaky fuel vapor line, they fixed my pickup's air conditioning and they checked out Mosaic Mom's Toyota, then I ran out of cars......Hey......it was great for me anyway.....

The sand hill cranes are becoming more like the mighty Zeus everyday....they come early, call for food, I obey, they eat and then leave for the day.....if they try to come in the house at night then we have a real problem......The Z boys tell me that these birds are 'legal game' in Texas....hmmmm....

I Hate Birdies!

Mosaic Mom had her beans eaten off by bunnies and declared bunny war!

She fenced the peas.


She fenced the celery.


She fenced the beets.


She has those bunnies scared and on the run now.


But I am fighting “Mr. Big”! who is eating all the strawberries!

Mr. Big is not a Bunny. Mr. Big is not a Sand Hill Crane. Mr Big is a mocking bird who flies in and pecks at the fruit. He earned his name because eating all my berries made him fat. Grrr!

So first I put bird netting over the strawberry pots. “That ought to stop him!” I said.
Oh no, Mr. Big flew under the bench and came up through the 4x4 wire grid and still ate the strawberries. Double Grrr!

I have now put frost cloth on the bench to stop air and ground attacks. I need my berries!

I don't hate all birdies, just Mr. Big the strawberry eater.

I need some color.........TPIE 2010 again..........

Everything is so brown outside.............had to see some color...........so it is back to TPIE......

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh...............now I feel better.................plus its Friday.................Ahhhhhhhhhh.....

Back Home ......

Just went on a 2 day trip for a faculty retreat to plan for upcoming department reveiw. These meetings are always interesting and I enjoy listening to all the interaction of about 45 different people.

So this morning I am filtering all the information and trying to clear my head. This was not a vacation, as we worked to 10:30 pm the first day. My butt, feet and back were so sore that it was almost torture. I was too tired to even have a beer after we quit....just went to room and slept. If someone tries to show me more data or sell me something I may explode.

There was so much food that it was disgusting.......disgusting what I ate and ate and ate....must have been the nerves....anyway today I drink water and eat veggies......must purge the system.

Three recurring thoughts I always get out of meetings......1. There is nothing better than coming home and being welcomed and loved....2. I can't wait to get back into the peace and quiet of my research greenhouse and just "be".....and 3. I am fortunate to have a job that allows 1 and 2. There are lots of other thoughts I have also but these are the only ones that really matter.

Oh and of course I get to see my buddy Zeus who is calling me at this minute......grrrrrr...........

Moving Forward................Hi Helen...........

I am getting ready for a horticulture program review meeting tomorrow and wednesday.
This meeting is south in Haines City, FL not in Gainesville like I thought. I really need to start reading my emails more closely. A photo of the location is below...............Anyway, I am preparing a few slides for the show that I may actually present myself as well as some slides for some of the breeding group members or we may all do our own parts..........it is up in the air..........either way it does not matter since it is just practice for the BIG SHOW in April.......and being a rather old senior faculty member my future career does not depend on this meeting........so I can be flexible and enjoy the trip.........

Breaking News........Just got a phone call...........the slide show we are working on gets presented tomorrow around 4:30 pm.....I thought was on Wednesday..........hmmmmmm........I like that............this gives a nice bit of FLEXIBILITY for Wednesday..........things are looking better...........

It is cold, cloudy and rainy today..........will be all week.........more winter I guess..........ahhhh but my little heater is working well........btw.....I drove the Sentra today.........it runs great and also has a fine HEATER too......