Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

He really is that stupid.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

You cannot shame the shameless.

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

Fight them, without becoming them!

“Joe Biden deserved better than he got from some folks in his own party.”

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

In my day, never was longer.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Lick the third rail, it tastes like chocolate!

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

You are here: Home / Garden Chats / Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Tropical Dreams

Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Tropical Dreams

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I’m not saying the orchid growers make a point of holding their shows in the winter — plants bloom when they bloom — but at least it gives us some color to enjoy! Beloved commentor & ace photographer Ozark Hillbilly went to the Missouri Botanical Garden Orchid Show:

I got enough nice pics for 4 or 5 Garden posts. And no, I don’t know the names of any of them. Consider yourselves lucky that a plaque found its way into a few photos. ;-)

I’ll get you the seed post I promised you next week. I just thought folks could use a little pick-me-up in this dreary 1st week of February.



***********

Speaking of spring planning… I ordered my tomato plants this week, on the theory that at least their mid-May arrival would require me to leave the house, which it seemed distinctly possible would otherwise never happen again. Fourteen different varieties from Laurel’s Heirloom Tomatoes, and six from Territorial Seeds (the Spousal Unit is extremely fond of the hybrid Chocolate Sprinkles cherry). Last year we didn’t get but a handful of tomatoes all summer, even with half again as many plants; after raining all through June, the temps in July & August held over 90F even at night, so there were *tons* of yellow blossoms and NO fruit set. That happens again this year, I may finally get discouraged enough to give up and just patronize the local farmers market.

What’s going on in your garden planning, this week?

Reader Interactions

103Comments

  3. 3.

    waratah

    Last year was the first time for me to grow the chocolate sprinkles cherry tomato.
    I planted it in a large pot and it was the healthiest tomato plant I had last year, loads of tomatoes. I will admit I was hoping for a little chocolate taste, it did not happen but the flavor was very good and not a sweet tomato .

  6. 6.

    Raven

    Nice bruv (the closed captions on “The Informer” inform me it’s bruv and not brah in England). There has been some blooming going on around here because of the 80’s last week.

  10. 10.

    JPL

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Your pictures are always amazing. Yesterday I noticed that you had one of a firetruck next to what looked like a general store. Where was that taken? I’m just curious.

  12. 12.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Blech:

    Overnight
    Snow, possibly mixed with sleet before 5am, then sleet, possibly mixed with freezing rain. Steady temperature around 28. Southeast wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Little or no ice accumulation expected. Total nighttime snow and sleet accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
    Sunday
    Rain, freezing rain, and sleet before 2pm, then a chance of rain after 4pm. High near 38. South wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New ice accumulation of less than a 0.1 of an inch possible. New sleet accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

  14. 14.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @JPL: Still dark but I did step out when I let the dogs out. All I can say is I’m glad I stopped by walmart when I ran into town yesterday. I don’t drive in shitty weather. Period.

  17. 17.

    OzarkHillbilly

    first as tragedy,

    For the sprawling effort to restore Puerto Rico’s crippled electrical grid, the territory’s state-owned utility has turned to a two-year-old company from Montana that had just two full-time employees on the day Hurricane Maria made landfall.

    The company, Whitefish Energy, said last week that it had signed a $300 million contract with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority to repair and reconstruct large portions of the island’s electrical infrastructure. The contract is the biggest yet issued in the troubled relief effort.

    then as farce

    Downing Street last night said the prime minister had full confidence in Grayling.

    The Department for Transport said the deal was terminated after Irish company Arklow Shipping, which had backed Seaborne, stepped away from the deal. “It became clear Seaborne would not reach its contractual requirements,” a spokeswoman said. “We have therefore decided to terminate our agreement.”

    Having awarded the contract to a company without ships, the deal with Seaborne descended further into farce when it emerged the company had copied terms and conditions from what appeared to be a pizza delivery company onto its website.

  21. 21.

    Baud

    Saudi Arabia had “absolutely nothing to do” with the National Enquirer’s reporting on an extramarital relationship involving Amazon.com Inc Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, the kingdom’s minister of state for foreign affairs said.

    That’s a relief.

  22. 22.

    OzarkHillbilly

    It is only natural to feel curious about what goes on behind the imposing, archaic or graffiti-ridden doors of our cities.

    Instagrammer Jonathan knows this feeling all too well. For the past year and a half he has been photographing the doors of New York from the grand to the scruffy, presenting a unique view of this well-documented city.

    “Every door has a story, and we can only imagine what that is,” he says. “So many of these doors are disappearing with the development of new buildings, the wood is being replaced by glass and the New York landscape is changing. I want to keep hold of them.

    “The mundane is a beautiful thing – we just have to look.”

    via the Guardian

    My wife thought it weird the first time she saw me take a picture of a door. Soon she too saw that, “The mundane is a beautiful thing”.

  25. 25.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Gorgeous orchid photos, Ozark.

    [Nero] Wolfe had once remarked to me that the orchids were his concubines: insipid, expensive, parasitic and temperamental. He brought them, in their diverse forms and colors, to the limits of their perfection, and then gave them away; he had never sold one.

    — Rex Stout, The League of Frightened Men.

  27. 27.

    satby

    Ozark, thanks for the dreary Sunday morning pick-me-up! The same weather is headed for me tonight, but it will result in ice and possibly an inch of snow. So my trip to the store is going to be mid-morning because I don’t drive in bad weather either.

    @JPL: did I miss a grandbaby announcement?

  34. 34.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Latest sign that the Apocalypse is upon us:

    A menstruation emoji is coming to your phone soon
    Plan International UK, a charity that advocates for gender equality, campaigned for a period emoji after discovering how much shame and stigma there still is around menstruation. The first design they submitted, period pants, wasn’t accepted. However, a blood drop emoji was deemed OK, and will be released along with other new emojis this month. So that’s something to look forward to.

  35. 35.

    JPL

    @satby: Wednesday, a baby boy. Nona the maltese goes home today to meet the young -lad. Finch will be thrilled to be an only dog again, even if it’s just for awhile. They went to the hospital early Tues. morning and finally were discharged yesterday evening. DIL had to have a C-Section, but both she and baby are doing good.

  36. 36.

    Kristine

    The Chicago Botanic Garden’s Orchid Show began this week. I will definitely be checking it out.

    Lovely photos, @OzarkHillbilly. Thanks!

  37. 37.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Nice little piece at TPM: Pelosi’s Pragmatism Debunks GOP Image Of Her As Captive Of Left-Wingers

    “We’re not doing a wall. Does anybody have any doubt about that? We are not doing a wall. So that’s that,” Pelosi said last month. She called the idea “an immorality.”

    Those remarks led many Republicans to believe that Pelosi would become an obstacle in the talks, refusing to agree to enough concessions to win over Republicans controlling the Senate, much less Trump.

    Instead, Pelosi is intent on pursuing a deal with Republicans on a $350 billion-plus appropriations bill that has been hung up for weeks over Trump’s border wall demands. She still opposes the idea of a wall but has signaled she’s open to vehicle barriers and other steps. She says she’s delegating most of the decision-making to allies on the House Appropriations Committee.

    “I trust the appropriators,” Pelosi said, and she frequently reminds people that she was “forged” on that pragmatic committee. Predictions that she’d be hemmed in by her prior stance, or that she’d be unwilling to buck progressives, aren’t coming to fruition.

    “Nobody hems in the speaker, OK?” said Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa. “The speaker is quite secure in her position and is someone who doesn’t have to worry about what anyone chatters about.”

    Part of that is the difference between making a political point and making a law. Must-pass legislation to fund the government, for example, which requires Trump’s approval, gets treated differently than do upcoming messaging measures on climate change, taxes and health care.

    I am shocked, shocked I tell you, that Pelosi would care about actual governance. I mean, it’s not like she’s been in Congress for decades or anything!

    While high-profile liberals such as Ocasio-Cortez, who won a safe seat in New York City, capture the attention of the party’s left wing, Pelosi is more focused on protecting the first-term members who really matter to holding the Democrats’ majority: lawmakers who took over GOP seats in areas won by Trump.

    Sausage making is ugly.

    Republicans say Pelosi is still a stereotypical San Francisco liberal. It’s just that she looks relatively measured when compared with left-wing insurgents.

    “She’s trying to hold them back from going over the cliff,” said the House’s top Republican, California Rep. Kevin McCarthy. “The party has moved beyond where she has philosophically been. So she is trying to rein that back.”

    Unlike the GOP, the DEMs are not a party of lemmings, and unlike you Mr McCarthy, Nancy is not a spineless coward.

    ETAL sigh…. blockquote fail but I think you can figure out what is mine and what isn’t

  43. 43.

    OzarkHillbilly

    The misogyny is rich: Booker: What Separates Me From Harris, Warren Is That I’ve ‘Run Something’

    Uhhhh Senator Booker? A word please? The Right Honorable Warren built the CFPB from the ground up, an accomplishment some might think to be considerably more difficult than just taking over an existing bureaucracy. And Senator Harris? Yeah she actually did run something:

    About the Office of the Attorney General

    The Attorney General is the state’s top lawyer and law enforcement official, protecting and serving the people and interests of California through a broad range of duties. The Attorney General’s responsibilities include safeguarding the public from violent criminals, preserving California’s spectacular natural resources, enforcing civil rights laws, and helping victims of identity theft, mortgage-related fraud, illegal business practices, and other consumer crimes.

    Overseeing more than 4,500 lawyers, investigators, sworn peace officers, and other employees, the Attorney General:

    Represents the People of California in civil and criminal matters before trial courts, appellate courts and the supreme courts of California and the United States.
    Serves as legal counsel to state officers and, with few exceptions, to state agencies, boards and commissions.
    Assists district attorneys, local law enforcement and federal and international criminal justice agencies in the administration of justice.
    Strengthens California’s law enforcement community by coordinating statewide narcotics enforcement efforts, supporting criminal investigations and providing forensic science services, identification and information services and telecommunication support.
    Manages programs and special projects to detect and crack down on fraudulent, unfair and illegal activities that victimize consumers or threaten public safety.

    In the future sir, please do not denigrate the accomplishments of the women you are competing against and just run on your own worthy accomplishments.

  45. 45.

    zhena gogolia

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Reposting from yesterday — thanks for all your advice!
    @OzarkHillbilly: @Gin & Tonic: @J R in WV:

    Aaah, the sounds of silence. It was some strange thing where a wire inside the panel had fallen off its connection. He has no idea why it happened. I’m still feeling uneasy, but at least the generator is off and we’re on utility power and I can hear myself think.

    I missed the funeral though.

    Thank you for your sympathetic ears!

  46. 46.

    Immanentize

    Ozark, thanks for the pictures. It is sunny here today but cold! We had a couple of warm days this week and I was worrying we would get a February thaw but luckily, no.

    Anne Laurie — you really do go in for variety don’t you! I’ve cut my tomato range to about 4 that I know will be solid performers with only one or two oddities each year.

  51. 51.

    Immanentize

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    Ok, that’s it. Booker’s out for me.

    I am very interested to see how the women react to each other. Have there ever been two or more women in a domocratic presidential primary? I expect the fire will be directed at Trump rather than other women (or even other candidates). We shall see….

  53. 53.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @zhena gogolia: No problemo, sorry I couldn’t be actually helpful.

    Aaah, the sounds of silence. It was some strange thing where a wire inside the panel had fallen off its connection. He has no idea why it happened. I’m still feeling uneasy, but at least the generator is off and we’re on utility power and I can hear myself think.

    It is nice when that constant drone is suddenly absent. It always feels like, “Wow, I’d almost forgotten what it was like.”

    I wouldn’t worry about the wire coming loose, as rare as it is it does happen, especially when they are forced to double them up on the grounding/neutral bars.

  54. 54.

    Immanentize

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:
    I am exactly that way, too. In my family you didn’t even say a baby was cute for at least six months. We even started joking about it; some sweet cousin would be born and everyone would say, “What an ugly baby!”. Luckily, everyone was in on the joke before the baby was born….

  55. 55.

    PsiFighter37

    Read a poll on TPM that shows an even 47/47 split on whether Northam should go. Perhaps even more interestingly, apparently African-Americans want him to STAY by a 58/37 margin.

    If those are the kinds of polling numbers he has now, there’s no way he’s going to go.

  56. 56.

    debbie

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I have a mess of photos hanging in my apartment of doors, windows, and chairs — some beautiful, others worn out and broken. Love them all.

    Love your orchids also. So beautiful and so intimidating. Yesterday, I saw the first green shoots of snowdrops peeping through last year’s dead leaves and mulch. Hot damn, Spring is coming!

  59. 59.

    debbie

    I wish I hadn’t seen this first thing this morning, but I cannot unsee it and I cannot un-rage.

    1) President makes joke about a time the US government killed thousands of Native Americans 2) People point out he did that 3) President’s son applauds president for doing that 4) Fox guy mocks people for suggesting president is knowledgeable enough to do that https://t.co/wTrx20X8Ll— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) February 10, 2019

    “He’s too stupid to know what he was saying”?

  62. 62.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @debbie:

    “He’s too stupid to know what he was saying”?

    Sure, he’s an exact reflection of themselves, and therefor the perfect president.

  63. 63.

    Immanentize

    @debbie: So this is what gets me — the Republicans spew racist shit about Native Americans in order to complain that Elizabeth Warren insulted Native Americans? It makes my head spin.

  64. 64.

    Albatrossity

    Spectacular. I spent three years in St. Louis as a postdoc, and didn’t discover the MoBot Orchid Show until year 2, alas. So I only got to see it for those last two years there. What a treat! Thanks for sharing these images.

  65. 65.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Headline of the week: Spelling bees? No, but they can do arithmetic, say researchers

    Then there is this: Five smart things honeybees can do These 2 I was unaware of:

    Understand zero
    Honeybees were the first insect species to be observed to have a concept of zero, a numerical notion that human children find difficult to learn. Researchers from RMIT University in Melbourne last year showed that bees conceive zero as a number but they were unclear why had this mathematical skill.

    Share decisions
    Bees have also developed a sense of democracy. When looking for a location for a new home for, say, 10,000 bees, 300 older bees form a “senate” and fly off looking for options. They use the waggle dance described above to communicate the potential locations, the number of dance repetitions indicating the quality of the site.

  67. 67.

    satby

    @Immanentize: I’m torn this year between just skipping growing tomatoes at all and starting the seeds I ordered last fall. Even the farmers markets and grocery stores carry heirlooms now and the higher price at the store is more than balanced by not spending money and time on plants that produce poorly in a bad year.
    But I love the promise of sprouting new seeds and planting heirlooms.
    Tempted to try growing mushrooms this year too.

  68. 68.

    Immanentize

    @satby:
    I have had too many seed failures. I have gone (with a few exceptions) to already established plants. It is easier to bury nursery raised tomatoes deeper than it is to do the same with my home grown guys. Last year, I got my garden in later than I should have and plus the wet June, the roots on my plants were not as developed as they should have been. I am vowing a late April planting this year!

  70. 70.

    debbie

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    It’s the implication he didn’t know what he was saying that has me scraping my brains off the walls. His idiot son’s “Savage!” when retweeting it is equally maddening.

  75. 75.

    debit

    @satby: Thanks so much for that link. We’ve been on a mushroom kick lately, and while delicious, is also expensive. Hmmm. They also have shiitake.

  77. 77.

    Yarrow

    Love the orchids! Feels like a tropical paradise.

    If anyone hasn’t seen these photos it’s very worth clicking through to see them. The “ghost apples” are so cool:

    GHOST APPLES ??

    After freezing rain in Michigan, apples that hadn’t been picked got coated in ice. Many fell off the tree. Some had their insides turn to mush as apples have lower freezing points. The mush and skin fell, leaving these “ghost apples.”

    ?: Andrew Sietsema pic.twitter.com/MWKUUv43aI— Tyler Sebree (@TylerABC57) February 8, 2019

  78. 78.

    WaterGirl

    @Immanentize: What a stupid move on his part, for a number of reasons.

    Any candidate for 2020 that tears down any other real democratic candidate (excluding sanders here and tulsi) is out for me. If you’re running for president and someone has to explain to you the consequences of giving the other side ammunition for the general — then you’re not the right person for the job.

  80. 80.

    WaterGirl

    @Immanentize: My niece received a baby gift in the mail on the day she miscarried. Note to self: do not send baby gifts too early.

    My other niece kept talking to their 5-year-old daughter about the baby sister she was going to have soon. I was horrified and held my breath for a couple of months until the time period where everything is still fragile had passed.

  81. 81.

    satby

    @debit: my neighbor at the market is a mushroom seller who has an amazing variety, so I don’t need to grow them. But it still would be a little cheaper and kind of fun.

  82. 82.

    Baud

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Do we have a transcript? The only quoted phrase from the article is “run something.” We know how the media likes to misrepresent us. I’d like to see context before condemning him.

  83. 83.

    satby

    Time to head out before the churches let out ?. Snow and ice starting midafternoon. 40° weather and rain by Tuesday. Not driving tomorrow.

  84. 84.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @satby: I tried growing them once (shitakes and oysters) there a bit persnickety and I was unable to devote the necessary time to them. Someday I will give it another try.

  85. 85.

    WaterGirl

    @Immanentize:

    So this is what gets me — the Republicans spew racist shit about Native Americans in order to complain that Elizabeth Warren insulted Native Americans? It makes my head spin.

    Thanks, Imm. I spent several sentences here on BJ yesterday trying to make that exact point — much less effectively than you did. Surely your point will not be lost on Native Americans. But of course, they could give a shit about Native Americans – they are just playing to their base. They disgust me.

  86. 86.

    debit

    @satby: Yeah, we’ve been getting them from the store and I cry a little every time I end up shelling out what’s essentially $35 per pound.

  89. 89.

    BC in Illinois

    @satby:

    Time to head out before the churches let out ?.

    Here in StL County, we were going to meet my SIL at church, then go out afterwards to celebrate her birthday. [ 77? That’s only 25 celsius! ] But her church, where she sings in the choir, is cancelled. And it is slick and icy. So we’re getting together for chili later.

  90. 90.

    Baud

    @Baud:

    Ok here.

    SEN. CORY BOOKER, (D) NEW JERSEY: I’m one of the few people you’re going to see coming through Iowa that actually had to run something. I was a mayor, I had to run a city. We showed that we could environmentally retrofit our buildings, create jobs for my residents as a result, drive down energy costs for the city, saving taxpayer dollars, and add to a better environment regarding violence in the city of Newark. So you can be a win, win, win by doing the right thing.

    http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1902/09/cnr.01.html

  92. 92.

    satby

    @OzarkHillbilly: I tried log grown shiitake mushrooms with the plugs and that was a complete failure, but the kits with the growing medium worked ok for me. Now that I’m semi-retired I may even remember to keep them misted.?

  96. 96.

    JPL

    Thank you. I might add that baby boy is perfect in every way, and grams wouldn’t exaggerate.

    @WaterGirl: That is so sad. There was a story in the Wash. Post awhile back about a gal who discovered that the fetus was not viable outside the womb. You could hear the heartbeat and her daughters would come home from school and want to touch the baby. She had to find a state that would do late term abortions because her heart was breaking every day.

  97. 97.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Baud: I can’t find a transcript anywhere and all the video I have found was of just his prepared remarks. He said that during a Q&A so it may have been an off the cuff reply (a question he should have been prepared for). One may find that to be a reasonable excuse for an inartful response but I find it to be illuminating.

    It’s the sort of thing I might have said 10 or 12 years ago without even being aware of it. Can’t say for certain that such things don’t slip out of my mouth to this day. I have been educated by the women here (and those closer) of how ingrained misogyny is in our society so I’m a lot more sensitive to it now than I would have been in the past.

    Personally, I look at these things as “teachable moments”. Hopefully Booker has somebody at his side to help him with that.

  101. 101.

    opiejeanne

    @OzarkHillbilly: Our crocuses were blooming ten days ago, now they’re buried under 9 inches of snow. Tulips are pushing up from the soil in their pots already and we could see buds on our cherry trees and were worried that the sap would start flowing and split the trees when it froze again. Need to check on them today.

  103. 103.

    J R in WV

    @zhena gogolia:

    Sometimes stuff just breaks. Our newly installed Generac failed a few weeks into its weekly test run, an oil-pressure sensor backed out a tiny bit and oozed enough oil for the low pressure switch to shut it off. The installation guys came back the day I called about it, replaced a more brittle sealer with flexible sealer, reinstalled the sensor, has been running ever since with just oil and filter changes annually for years now.

    We’ve grown shittakes on oak logs off and on for years. Sometimes after a long rain we’ll get dozens, other times just a couple. Neighbor is a biologist, he orders spawn and we cut fresh oak logs, drill holes, gently tap a wooden dowel in and seal it with melted wax. There’s another species it will work with, but not as successful as oak trees.

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