Fort Worth Botanical garden...

Had a few minutes off in Fort Worth today, so I went to the botanical garden. Most of Texas this time of year is a study in brown, tan and the occasional vauge green... it has it's own beauty, but I wanted to see if I could find some color...

Now I took about 30 pics just walking around... The pictures got all out of order, and I don't really have time right now to straighten it out, so please excuse the randomness...

From the "4 seasons garden," a winter blooming helleborus, aka Christmas Rose.

From the cactus garden, which is rather disappointing IMO, as there are at least 50 different cactus species that are winter hardy here, and the botanic garden has out about 4... All the other cactus are stored in the greenhouse, bare rooted for the winter. This is a Texas Horse Crippler, Echinocactus texensis... I have one of these in my rock garden, a tiny little guy about 3 inches across... this is an ancient one, actually only 2 heads of the 5 headed plant they have...

This is the view from the top of the Rose Pavilion, down the hill over the rose garden. It's amazing in the late spring, when everything is in bloom, but still nice right now...

This is the bottom looking up the hill...

This is the cactus house. You have to have an appointment to go in and see the plants up close...

This is from the other end... the two tall plants in front are Carnegea gigantia... Saguaros! Only 2 feet tall. But they'll get there in about a hundred years or so...

I found this little guy soaking up some rays...

...on the leaves of this plant, the Texas tuberose. Actually a member of the agave family, properly called Manfreda variegata.

And this is a further view of the Rose pavillion...

Really just a quick post... I'm kinda on the run tonight, but I didn't want to forget ya'all.

Nothing much happened today... and it was the end of the day before I even saw one darned thing worth taking a pic of... one of the warehouses I went to today backed up on a pasture.


Now, those horses weren't too interested in me. I was, after all, interupting their dinner, and I didn't even have the common courtesy to have an apple for them.

Really, I don't know why they let me out in public if I'm not going to learn some good manners...

A week in review

well, it's been an interesting week I suppose.

After 2 short holiday weeks, and consequently short paychecks... (couriers get paid by delivery, not by the hour) I went back to work in need of the cash... The two days before Christmas were ok, but the factories were winding down and not delivering much of anything, and the two days between Christmas and New Years were worse.

Monday was OK, just freezing rain. Then Tuesday was just dreary, and the rest of the week started out cold in the mornings, humid, and hot in the afternoons... A weather situation that isn't particularly nice for those of us who have sinus situations. I'm one of them...

But a few things to mention, remember that bright magenta house I first mentioned in this post... http://lpfleamarket.blogspot.com/2008/08/meandering-around.html
I had mentioned again that I had seen it, and it was for rent... well I drove by it today and it's been rented. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, it's also been painted. A light dove gray... Before it was a unique little shot-gun house, now it's just another house in an alltogether not great part of town. So... glad I saw it when it was there, but now I can forget it...

Friday, I was on the highway when the funeral procession went by for Dallas Police officer Norman Smith. He was shot last Tuesday when trying to serve a warrant on a man... here's a link to a news story about him... http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/010709dnmetofficershot.45d6022c.html
The funeral procession was miles long, I didn't see all of it, but I did see police cars from all over Texas, where individual cities had sent officers to pay their respects. I pulled off the highway onto the frontage road and stood by my truck as it passed, along with a bunch of other people on the road.

Nothing else much happened this week...

I think we got it...

In reference to the tree in the previous post...

Thanks everybody... It's definitely not a Eucalyptus... there are only two species that will grow here, both small and not that winter hardy, they usually have to be replaced every few years.

Billy, from Garden Wise Guy... See the blog on the list to the right, says Cupressus glabra, but the sources say it has dark reddish bark and this is definitely light gray bark which makes it more likely to be Cupressus arizonica Either way, it's commonly known as an Arizona Cyprus.

Finally had a decent day at work... lots of orders and, hopefully, lots of money for the ole paycheck... and hopefully it will be buzy tomorrow too. After the short paid holiday weeks, I need cash!

No pics today though... just no time.

Just driving...

just some quick pics of what I saw driving around today... first of all, I found some of that little stick-on velcro, so that I could take pocket buddha with me everywhere...


Second, there was this tree growing in a vacant lot... some kind of juniper I think... It has a fantastically colored trunk, pealing bark and gray foilage. Does anybody out there know what kind of tree this is... because I really like it...

And some cactus by the roadside.

And not much else today... Really wasn't a great day at work, but pocket buddha kept reminding me to be happy...

Quick recipe

On my way out the door but I wanted to post this...

Tried this recipe last night, and it turned out great...

Put a cast iron skillet in the oven, then turn oven to 450...

while that's heating up, mix in a large bowl...
2 to 3 Tbsp of olive oil (or any other type)
2 to 3 Tbsp of honey (or maple, sorghum or dark corn syrup)
1 Tbsp of fresh grated ginger (or 1 tsp of dried powdered ginger)
1 Tbsp of soy sauce
optional 1 crushed garlic clove

Peal and cut into large chunks 1 or 2 sweet potatos and 1 onion (3 or 4 carrots chopped into two inch slices instead of the sweet potato works too, they both have lots of natural sugars that make this taste great)

Mix into the sauce.

When the pan is hot, use slotted spoon to put veggies in pan, all to one side

roll 2 to 4 chicken thighs into the sauce, then put on other side of pan... pour rest of sauce over it...

cook at 450 for 20 to 25 minutes, turning chicken once and giving the veggies a stir.

Eat it up... how many it can serve depends on the number of chicken thighs and potatoes you use...
You could also use this with thick pork chops instead of the chicken...
Or you can leave out the meat and double the veggies to make a great, vegetarian dish.


now, off to work... have a great day!

When I started out driving today, it was raining.

This turned into freezing rain.

This is not fun to drive in.

But the ice on the cactus is kind of nice.

Not the best pics... it was still raining and still cold out there, so I didn't stay too long...

when I moved into this house, several years ago, the bathroom had this absolutely awful flowered walpaper. I swore that I was going to change it, and now, about 10 years later, it's still there. I still don't like it, but I don't have the darned time to do anything about it. However, at the flea market, I found an old cabinet that somebody had painted cream with flowers that I suppose are supposed to be roses scattered over it, and it got brought home to store towels in. And the top of the cabinet is used to display things... whatever I decide I like that week. One of the good things about having a flea market stall; I have unlimited access to interesting objects, and someplace to get rid of them when I get tired of them. Nothing stays up there more than a couple of months.



This is it this time around.

Now, there's nothing wrong with a vintage porcelain doll head, silk roses or a gold bird cage. Except when you combine them together - it gets kinda creepy. (I think that's what I like about it...)

howdy

just a really bad pic of me and moonpie-pug on New Years Day... I don't take particularly good pics, especially not right after I've woken up... but, like Grandma always said, "It covers the subject"

Happy New Year...

So... I was just sitting here, minding my own business... when I suffered a sudden and random attack of silliness.


Anyway, Little goth Bob, Pocket Buddha and I all wish you much luck, prosperity and happiness in the coming new year...