Associates in Applied Science - Horticulture
The books descriptions don't often equal the learning one can gain from actual planting photos and the books seldom describe scents. Those Agapanthus blooms are twins for Orange blossoms which has a tremendous aroma from all the pollen you can see in the blooms. My community (55+, adult) does not allow vegetable planting. I think it's something to do with the original land being farm and the other farmers only let it get developed if there were no possibility that uninformed homeowners would grow deseases and harbor insect populations that would harm their crops. But that was almost fifty years ago and the farms are now homes or shopping malls. Many are beginning to ignore the rule.
There is a row of geraniums behind the Tagetes that are now starting to bloom heavily and their aroma is wonderful when you get enough plants blooming (50). In the background of my Pinwheel photo you can see the bulbous trunk of my Elephant's Foot (Ponytail) Palm (Beaucarnia recurvata). Today I am posting a spray of a Camelia plant I've taken care of for a 96 yr old neighbor who ha ssince moved away and left me the plant. I just have to get around to transplanting it. I am loathe to move it while it is producing such lovely blooms (more than 50). Oh, it is tomorrow! I took this Pix this evening with a flash. The flowers are an intense Salmon color. Here it is:

Looks like I need to put my photos elsewhere to get them to show here as where they are now did not work....lol

"BIG and small Pinwheels"

Mehaul, perhaps you should have posted this one under the Letter P thread (LOL).

How to post photos in here
Howie did you read these ? Are you using a site like Photobucket to edit the photos first? Keep trying, it gets easier!

Just in case anyone thinks we exaggerate about how cold it gets hereabouts, the water flowing over this wee dam was partly frozen when I passed by yesterday. It was warming up at the time!

I thought this was a cormorant, but I've been told it's an anhinga. He sat like that for several minutes.

Trev: Birds are so funny when walking on ice, aren't they? lol

Mehaul and Auntie: I think it's unanimous - you two have the greenest thumbs of the regular posters! Very nice photos.

Liz: neat picture of the water/ice. If you need "backup" re: the weather in the frozen white north, I'll be happy to post some snow pix. I would call this the "great white north", but there's nothing "great" about it at the moment. The snowpiles in my yard are now 7.5 feet high and there's nowhere else to put the dang stuff, as the sideyard is completely filled level with the top of the fence and I can't get the back door open at all. Three feet up the door (that's fallen snow, not shovelled or wind drifted lol).

Howie: Welcome... and don't give up yet! !!

PDAZ: Wow. Was this picture taken in Arizona? If so, that's very unusual. I can see why it might be mistaken for a cormorant, especially the way it is holding its head (which makes its neck look MUCH shorter lol). Anhingas don't have enough oil to waterproof their feathers (cormorants as well), so they tend to spend a LOT of time sitting around with their wings held out to dry lol. If you had spotted a female, there would be no mistaking it for a cormorant (from the neck up, females are tan coloured). This one is a male and looks to be quite young. In case anyone is wondering (and I'm sure they're not lol) anhingas have pointy/sharp/straight bills, whereas cormorants have a "hook" on the end of theirs. Did you get to see it swimming, PDAZ? They look just like "rearing" snakes in the water lol. Anyway, very cool capture.

Great variety of interesting topics from everyone.
Love all the ice, the leaden-grey and sunny blue skies, the flowers, the birds, the architecture.

PDAZ: I would have thought it was a cormorant also. Led me to Google, where I learned we also have snakebirds in Australia. As for cormorants, we call them "shags" as in "left him alone like a shag on a rock."

Jakeroo: I'm willing to concede the Greenfinger title to mehaul, who has the papers to prove it, and some mighty original garden ornaments as well. Don't forget, I only choose to show my triumphs....
Furthermore Jakeroo, may I say, "From your mouth to God's ears" in reference to your post #580152 on The First Day of Christmas thread.
I have an announcement to make.....

Oh Auntie, that's GREAT news, congratulations!!!

Yesss! And oh Auntie what a very sweet way to announce the news! Brilliant!

The view over Clitterhouse Park in Cricklewood looking across to Golders Green with some birds that I discovered afterwards as well.

Swans on one of the local ponds



Looks like some ducks got in on the act as well

Auntie 1, will that mean an alias change? (Auntie 2 or Mommie 1?)
Gees, is THAT what a cygnet looks like! I thought they were ugly duckling kind of things.

...and After. All is not pretty in my secret garden. Sometimes the blooms fade and need to be dealt with.

Just to clarify, this will be a GRANDchild (second).
I adopted the username Auntie1 because my nephew often came to a weekly Trivia competition I played in. The host, and eventually all the regular players, echoed him in calling me Auntie Dawn.

But you sound too young to be a gran, Auntie!

CNY is coming! I always wanted a windmill, it's the child in me. I usually get some new decorations for the festival, so this is this year's

Sara, is that an angelwing Begonia sharing the pot?

Yes, and a bit sad from the winter wind

Two counter rotating desktop pinwheels:


The bases are caulking tube applicator ends cut and sanded to stand level. The weights are agitator marbles (women use them in washing for some purpose) the applicator tips are cut at a diameter to tightly hold an unpainted pencil (no need to advertise someone else, he he) The wheels are latex painted (for flexibility) note paper and the pin is a thumb tack stuck into the pencil's eraser. The backdrop is a piece of cardboard I use as a drop cloth for spray painting small objects.

Could I plese remind people that we only post one photo each per day.

They are building a new academy at Elgin, this is what it looks like at the moment.

This is the River Tay in Perth, Scotland. It's the longest river in Scotland, and has the largest discharge volume of any river in the UK. The park you can see is the North Inch, where there was a staged battle in 1396, called The Battle of the North Inch, not unsurprisingly!

Frosty today



Frosted Wild Grass

Nice view Reeshy and welcome Gees, I've never seen ice like that before. This is a typical London view over Cricklewood including a red bus which actually mainly left our roads for over a decade when they were privatised in the 80s but returned albeit minus the traditional Routemasters nowadays.

Aw, the River Tay -- so beautiful! And an awesome picture of the frozen grass

Here in Phoenix, we grow roses during the winter
This is a "Summer Fashion" rose -- I've had the rose bush for nearly twenty years now.