Peak Season

or so the woman said when answering my phone question about the timing for visiting the Butterfly Encounter at Lukas Nursery. In order to keep myself sane, this week I've been going on outings whenever possible. Monday morning, around 10, it was possible. Arriving with the new camera in tow, I entered the hot and humid atmosphere of the aviary, which in this case describes it well because I saw way more darling little birds than I did butterflies! They were darting all over the place, and was it ever something.

Who wouldn't be happy when seeing a bird with POLKA DOTS? I mean seriously...

Apparently there are gobs of types of finches in this beautiful world of ours, mostly ones I've yet to see. All I know about this one for sure is that it is cute as a button.

Below is a Spice Finch which is really interesting as yesterday afternoon I made a homemade spice cake, one I've not made in forever. As a young girl, when asked what kind of cake I wanted for my birthday, you know, in the days when people actually made birthday cakes, I always wanted spice.

In addition to finches, they also have little quails that clean up the ground. I've seen brown ones, I've seen white ones, never have I seen one that I'm calling deep rust. Seriously cute.

They have a room, if you will, with Painted Lady butterflies ready to be both fed and held by the customers. You dip your index finger in some Gatorade, hold it below the butterfly; they hop on!!! The attendant told me their taste is in their feet.

Although there was a Giant Yellow Swallowtail flying around, not once did it land for even a moment. There were quite a number of this very attractive green butterfly.

And then something terrible happened--my camera battery died. I mean the screen went black. How could this happen, you ask? Well, interestingly enough, before leaving the house, I thought I'd checked it, but apparently I did not read it correctly. There was so much more I wanted to photograph, however, it was not to be. I was hoping the attendant would feel bad for me and validate my admission for another day that I wanted to drive twenty miles, however, she felt none of my pain. :)

Note to self, always take a second camera, it is not like you don't have one!!

Yesterday's excursion was to the Orlando Museum of Art to see the Florida Prize in Contemporary Art, an exhibit that is closing within the week. Although that exhibit did not engage me much, you'll see something in a few minutes from it, I thought the museum as a whole was terrific. It's been way too long since last I visited.

So, take a look at the piece on the wall...

Can you guess what is under the openings on the left side panel? POSTAGE STAMPS!! There are punched, or that's what I'm calling it, holes with the stamps visible. Now that is really something, isn't it?

The permanent collection spans many genres, some super, some just okay.

I loved the movement in the sculpture, so lovely, the figure and painting in the back, not so much. Take a closer look at those two.

You may find yourself wondering just what is attached to that head gear. Well, I'm here to tell you that, for the most part, they are painted bird figurines that must have taken the artist a long time to collect. Or, perhaps he came upon a bird statue lovers' estate sale? One that also had gobs of crocheted potholders? I'll never know.

I found this piece fascinating...the statue is made from plaster casts, you know, the kind people used to wear on their broken arms. The photograph added another dimension.

I was especially intrigued by the self portrait pictured on the left below--made with stamps. No, not postage stamps, rather the kind that you use with an ink pad. The accompanying text explained that the artist also makes art with food, say chocolate sauce, photographs it, then of course discards it.
Sort of like my experiments with milk, food coloring, and corn syrup.

Okay, so about those prize winners....while in another gallery I kept hearing this clanging noise that was pretty much getting on my nerves. Here is the source of said noise.

Expertly created, however, a clanging metal on pots leaves me a little cold. Finally, probably my favorite painting in the whole museum....tada...a sheet!

I suspect that sheet won't do a thing for some of you, but I found it astonishing. The rocks were really great as well, but that sheet....WOW!

I would be remiss if I left out the cool sculptures on the plaza in front of the museum. Above you saw the sitting one, here are those standing about.

Actually it was a photograph of these that I saw in the newspaper that made me finally get off my butt and see them in person. I was not disappointed. Should you be interested in seeing them for yourself, they will stand mute outside the museum until the middle of January.

All views presented are my own...feel free to disagree with me!

So, we have some God made beauty, and some man made beauty. Isn't life amazing?

Trying to stay busy,

Gail

It Was a Good Day for Cleaning Gutters

Saturday. A lovely day! What began as a chilly morning evolved into a warm one as the day wore on. Both Bruce and I started our outdoor chores wearing sweatshirts, however, by the time we finished, we were down to short sleeves and shorts. And I complain about our weather? Shame on me.

It is a well established fact that winter sunsets are the best. Why this is so, I don't know, but unless the day is gray and gloomy, most nights we get a very nice show. Looking down our street toward the lake.

Last week when we were sorting through Bruce's stamp collection we came across two newspaper clippings which are very entertaining...cascading male manes! When was the last you heard that phrase?

Here's another one:

You can just barely see the date on the second one--1972, a year in which Mr. Peck still was sporting some pretty long locks. Because one of these is from, what I think is a Tampa newspaper, we are presuming that his Mom must have sent these from when they lived in Clearwater, no doubt, hoping to get her son to cut his hair!! With the ongoing beard craze, I suspect there are some Moms out there so wishing their sons would trim those crazy long beards. As to how long the current craze will continue, is anyone's guess, however, one thing we do know is that it will eventually be a thing of the past. (please note the reference to Afros in clipping #2!)

Eventually Bruce cut his hair, but not without some grumbling. :)

What would a post on Camera Crazy be without a bird photo?

I'm pretty confidant this is a mockingbird who stayed in the tree for quite some time. Notice the little buds? Well, here's what that tree looks like today:

Gray sky? Blue sky? You know which one is my favorite!

The market was nice on Sunday, albeit a little chilly. So many folks came to see, and be seen.

It was super nice to be busy, rather than sitting reading a book. When my tent was empty, which, thankfully, was not too often, I worked on the Sunday newspaper crossword puzzle, a good way to pass the time. Talk about busy--all of our food vendors ran out of food! Nice for them. 

People of all ages were out enjoying a lovely weekend day. 

Oops, here comes more birds!! This time the little finches have returned.

As have the blooming Tabebuia trees!

This is not my tree, but any day now, I'll have this to enjoy in our yard. 

When I've not been cleaning gutters, scrubbing the fascia boards with bleach, or selling photography, I've been doing a little sewing. 

I laid out the pattern pieces on some of my sweet estate sale fabric, however,  it took me several days before I could actually cut it. Once cut, it would be a done deal. Making sure the fabric works with a pattern is part of the process. Eventually I went for it...

It is nearly done, aside from the armholes. The sunny yellow band on the bottom makes me happy. I have very few yellow clothes, and I don't really know why. Perhaps they don't make them?

Speaking of bright colors, Maureen called the other day to tell me the name of that spectacular orange vine I showed in this post. Mexican flame vine is what she said, and I've no reason to doubt her as she knows her plants!

We've had a very nice hiatus from Bruce traveling so much, however, that is all changing this week as he'll be gone for three days. Super cold there too, or at least it is to this wimp. He never complains, saying the travel part is the easiest part of his job. That tells you something doesn't it?

The Birds

Last week I really, really tried to keep going, however, most of the days I sure didn't feel myself. Getting up Saturday morning, my eyes were stinging, and I still had little energy, but pack the car I did and drove out to Winter Garden. God bless Dana's son, Cole, for putting up a tent over my display because, if not, I would have been hard pressed to make it. Fortunately, the day was worth it as far as sales were concerned.

Once home, I felt pretty worn out, however, we had agreed to go to a party at Steve and Barb's condo in Lake Nona at 6, and I did not want to disappoint our friends. Barb's boss's 18 year old son died in his sleep last week, obviously, quite the blow to the entire department. She is a good friend, helping in any way she could, meaning cooking for the party was not in the cards. She bought these gorgeous desserts from Whole Foods:

Little Missy here, did not feel like trying a one of them. I did not even finish my wine, which is really saying something.

Around 8:30, with glazed eyes, I whispered to Bruce, "I just can't stay any longer." Making apologies, we drove home, I took some aspirin, and was asleep in minutes. Waking up Sunday morning, Bruce suggested I stay home and rest which turned out to be a good plan. While he worked in the garage, I lay in bed, finishing a silly travel book called, "Queen of the Road." Mostly it was enjoyable, however, after a time, I did get a little tired with her Jewish American Princess shtick.

So, what pray tell does my title have to do with the above? Hold your horses, I'm getting there!

As you've probably figured out, if you've been reading this blog for long, I'm not a good sitter. I'm also not great at multi-tasking, however, if the activities are simple enough, I can sometimes accomplish two things at once. Feeling puny,  I planned on watching as much of The Masters as possible. Because the couch now abuts the main living room window, guess what I can see out said window? Birds in the beautiful blue bird bath! Of course, there is the window, screen, and mullions to deal with, but none of those stopped me from taking a few shots when the occasion arose.

When I was 10 years old, Alfred Hitchock's film, The Birds came out. My memory is fuzzy on whether I saw it at the long-closed, Vogue theater on Colonial Drive, however, what I do recall is how scary it was. So scary, in fact, that many people my age do not like birds because of that film. Once the children were around that same age, our library began carrying movies to rent, and I could not wait for them to see "The Birds," however, to their tastes, it was not scary at all--as I recall one of them thought it was silly. Oh well--so much for sharing childhood favorites with your children! Anyway, as you well know, I am fascinated by birds, both their appearance and behavior. Plus, their eye colors--so interesting. I like all kinds of birds, but if pressed, I'd have to say songbirds are my favorite. Can you believe that there are over--get this--10,000 bird species in the world??? I've probably seen about 30!

The brown thrashers are back:

Forgive the quality--see above. Wonder why their eyes are yellow?

Doves galore:

That pretty little blue ring around the dark black eye is so nice.

Out front, again through the window, the finch are starting to multiply:

Someone just told me about seeing finches with blue coloring--I sure hope they find their way here!

Then there is the always the under-appreciated female cardinal:

Enough already Gail! Sorry, can't help it!

Last week, on a trip to Wal Mart, I stopped to see the peacocks, and boy howdy were there a bunch of them!

Also last week, I went to sign our income tax forms at Olga's house.

Long ago, she and David lived together. I'll always be grateful to Olga for suggesting Dave take a teller job at Sun Trust while he was in school. He began working there a few days a week, rising to his current job as a Wealth Manager, with an office on Park Avenue. If you're from here, you know that sounds like an awesome gig. We always got along well, and since I already knew her, once I had my little business going, I needed some help with my taxes. Enter, Olga, CPA. We owe this year, mostly because my sales were stronger in 2012, however, not much.

One of the primary reasons I want to get better is our trip this week. Don't ask me any details because they are still sketchy, however, I did get a book from the library on North Florida and will pack it, making up the trip as we go along. Or, at this moment that's what I'm thinking. With my muddled brain, who knows where we'll end up!

Finally, if you are SICK of bird pictures, just say so, will you?

Back to Nature

How many times do you suppose someone has used that either as a phrase, or a title? A bunch, I suspect! It got your attention didn't it?

How about this photo for an attention grabber? Because I only sit on the couch, or in one of the thrones while watching sports on television, I don't often see what is happening with the bird bath. As I sat there hand quilting, several finches sat at the water's edge, with one finally taking the plunge for a little bath!  Naturally I had to get my camera, however, by the time I returned this little rascal had taken their place. It must have been refreshing...

Getting a photograph of anything on the birdbath is no easy feat because, not only is the sofa in front of the window, but there is a screen on said window. I climb on the cushions, fit the camera between the blinds, and hope for the best! The new feeder has done its' job --- the squirrels are no longer eating us out of house and home. Well, make that outdoor pet food, which is what is written on the bag of bird seed. When I saw that it made me laugh because, darn if it isn't the truth!

I'd done some rearranging of the feeders because I thought the townhouse was broken, when in fact it had only come apart. Still and all, I like the red color better on the high wire, and it seems as if the finches do as well, because there have been so many you can't believe.

My understanding is the red on the left-sided finch is from diet. Yes, indeed, the birds have been swarming; here's another look at a tufted tit mouse in case you have been dying to see one.

Again, on the left. They are such cute and lively birds. Hearing a tap-tap-tap sound, I wondered if it was a woodpecker, or a blue jay. What, you didn't know blue jays take their food, tapping it several times on, in our case the fence, before eating? Well, now you do.

No blue jay but a woodpecker way the heck up in one of the Chinese Fan Palm trees which have grown so tall since we moved in. I can almost remember, almost being the key word here, when we looked at this home with Bill, David, and Jonathan after church one Sunday back in September of 1995. Fortunately for us, David, while visiting a friend on Appleton, brought home the Open House flier. Because our home already had a buyer, we were looking, looking, looking. He said, I think you might like this place Mom, and he was right. Wandering the back yard, we were so impressed with all of the palm trees, AND the outdoor lighting. The outdoor lighting was big time! Making an offer on the spot, the realtor almost fainted because, apparently, NO ONE ever buys a home after seeing it just once, AND at an Open House. Well, you know we are different.

Despite replacing almost every system we have, we have always loved this home like no other we've owned. Speaking of replacing/repairing, the squirrels have been at it again. Apparently they are getting back at us for buying the Yankee Flipper by chewing a giant hole in one of the sprinkler system electrical covers. Not only did they chew the hole, but they ate the wire nut cover which is the plastic thing that covers the wire ends!!

Pray tell, what will they think of next? Bruce cut a plexi glass circle which he screwed onto the remaining plastic--let's see them get through that!

Gladiolas anyone?

Although my friend Lois has moved to Gainesville, her legacy continues through her garden. I have met both Dave and Cheryl, who bought her home while on my bike travels, and they are just as accommodating about letting me photograph what's in bloom. I just love, what I'm calling the white piping on these flowers. That's a sewing term for those of you who wonder what I'm referring to.

While we're looking at red, how about the seed pod which forms after a magnolia blooms?

For two weeks or so, I've been thinking that our weather is showing signs of fall. How can that be Gail when everyone knows that fall does not arrive in Florida until at least the end of October? The plants are telling me so. I've seen all sorts of odd things going on, such as some magnolia trees still blooming, our azaleas have a few blooms which is unheard of at this time of the year,

 as well as our outdoor pets behavior.

Furthermore, our Chinese Tallow tree is losing leaves, as are the Sycamores lining Pershing Avenue, (or at least that's what I think they are) showing their fall colors. All very strange, and I might be way off base, but I guess time will tell won't it?

Rain, rain, rain. 5 inches in less than 24 hours! I'm glad I went to Winter Garden yesterday because today is a rain out, which is why you find me blogging instead of selling!

I love those pears in the galvanized bucket, don't you?

Enough photos for you? I thought so.

As you well know, this summer has been somewhat discouraging, which is probably what I say every summer isn't it? Anyway, I finally have some good news to report. It's a long story, involving Mr. Roger, who those of you who have been reading for awhile know as the man who has done my printing for five years now. He's gotten big time, I'm still pretty small potatoes. Why, you ask, am I mentioning this? Well, his name is now the area's most well known as the quality printer with more customers than he knows what to do with. One such new customer is the new Federal Bankruptcy Court. They are decorating their offices with lots of photographs in large canvases, one of which is from your favorite blogger. That's a 40x60 canvas! Several hours after taking that call on Friday, I got an email from Mr. Richard Forbes of the Orlando Historical Board saying they have chosen not one, but two of my photos for next year's City Calendar!! After not getting in the previous two years, I was elated! Plus two small orders have come in via the phone and email. All I needed was just a wee bit of encouragement to keep me going.....

And a very special thank you to my friend Lois, a retired Humanities professor from Valencia who sent me the sweetest note the other day regarding this here blog. She called it fun reading. Let me know if you agree with her, will you?

Hodge Podge

 Does this look familiar? Regular readers know just what is coming next.

Remember me mentioning Lisa bringing over the letters on Tuesday night? Well, she also brought over a photo album, which as it turns out was mostly of Carol, however this gem was spotted by Nancy. She called out "Come look at this Gail!" Here's a reminder of why we were so astonished at the above picture from our parent's home in 1956 when I was just a wee one.

Good grief! I looked high and low for a picture of them both re-covered, but this was the best I could do, which will do just fine as I'm happy to be reminded of the dramatic change! Nonetheless, I was so happy I finally got my scanner to work so I could show you the blast from the past.

I've just come across this fun little website, actually it looks like a blog; you might enjoy visiting it for more fun, not to mention, pretty useless trivia:
 http://flowingdata.com/2010/07/30/how-to-win-rock-paper-scissors-every-time/

Wednesday night it turns out Bill's band, "Exit the Ride" was playing in a  downtown club called the Social. Nancy could not have been more thrilled that she would be able to see him perform live. Lisa made the trip down from Longwood once again to join us. The "Price" sisters headed out for the evening. Photographing concerts is not something I've mastered just yet, but I keep trying. Jonathan, Alissa, and Matthew, all seem to do it with ease, but not me. That said, here's one of the band onstage minus the drummer:

Part of the problem is that they won't stay still long enough for me to get them all in focus! Anyway, after the show here's one of Bill and Nancy goofing around:

Ryan, Bill and Lisa show off the guns:

It was lots of fun except for staying up way past my bedtime. Yikes, I need my sleep! Not a good thing to have to take someone to the airport at 5:45 AM after an evening out. This time, however, Nancy made her flight with time to spare. Lisa left late morning, and this little blogger mostly rested after so many consecutive days of partying! Bruce arrived home from Massachusetts last evening just as I was chatting with our favorite new homeowner. Yep--Matthew called to chat and hear all about the wedding. There's talk about bringing a British boy to sunny Florida for Christmas. I hope Matt can make that happen because Tom has never visited the USofA. Plus, it could be nice to show him that all Floridians are not as crazy as the ones that make the news. You know of what I speak no doubt.

This morning I visited Lukas nursery again to check out their large pots.While there I popped into the butterfly encounter to see what I could see. The butterfly population was down somewhat from my visit last year, but oh my word, do they have a new attraction that is even more fun than the butterflies. A smallish screened room with finches that are absolutely beautiful, mostly new to me.

Not that I've seen that many or anything, but was I ever both surprised, and delighted with this pair:

I could not get over their coloring! I wonder which one is the male/female? Notice the first one's long middle claw! As far as the pots are concerned, it was truly too hot to make a decision. Seriously, I almost felt sick with the heat which typically does not bother me too much. Not today--pictures were all I came home with!

While there I couldn't help but think of a funny story from long ago. We once had a pair of finches, not nearly as colorful as these, which lived in a cage on our screened porch. One day Bruce was cleaning their cage with his shop vac. If you can imagine, he somehow sucked up more than he bargained for. Like the finches. Yikes! Sweet Mr. Bruce was devastated at the time, however, now it seems a tiny bit funny. Or does it?

I suspect you've just about had enough of me for one post so I'll sign off, wishing all a lovely weekend.