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Monday, Feb. 10, 2003 - 5:31 p.m. Yeah, we were �slammed� by another snowstorm last night. Total snowfall? About 1 1/2 inches of the white stuff. It started about 9 pm, and fell veeeeeery slooooowly until 5 am. That made for a long night. I don�t like being behind the wheel of a plow truck when these piddly slows fall. There isn�t enough falling to use the plow. All you can do is drop lights shot of salt (around 300-lbs. per mile, as opposed to 500 lbs. per mile during a �real� snow), reload the truck, and wait for the road to cover over again. Repeat. I had a couple of cars off in the ditch, but that is par for the course on my route. People just don�t want to slow down, and one minor miscalculation later you are waiting for a tow truck to pull you out. I really had a hard time concentrating last night. If the snow falls fast and you have to work hard to even keep up, staying awake isn�t a problem. But the little stuff like this? I had to pull over several times for a very short (5-10 minute) power nap. Since we don�t get to take a lunch break at night, and regular brake time is out of the question, I don�t fell badly about stopping long enough to get my senses. The alternative is to drive until I hit somebody or something. That is not an option. I was in my bed by 8:15 am, and didn�t wake up until 3 pm. I still feel like I never went to bed. More snow is forecasted for tonight (1�-2� after Midnight, with strong winds behind it), so it looks like I will be stuck on nights for at least one more day�. Here are couple of photos from the second part of Lease and my �1-day vacation�: Orchids come in so many colors and have so many bizarre forms, it is hard to settle on just a couple of shots for this page This on is more towards the �bizarre� side, with a pitcher front to capture moisture and rainfall for later use:
This next bloom is subtle, but very impressive none the less. The majority of the flower is creamy white and yellow, with just a few small spots of red on the lower petals. This gives the bloom the appearance of �bleeding�, in my eye:
This plant won �Best in Show�. Nice, but not a favorite of either of us:
The last shot shows you how small the blooms of an orchid can be. This cluster of about 20 flowers is only about 5� across, and each bloom is smaller than the nail on Lease�s index finger.
I guess I should tell you why these orchids were on display. Every year in early February, the local orchid club has an invitational show that draws exhibiters from all over the Midwest. These growers have developed some of the most amazing hybrids, and love to show them off to the public. This show continues to grow in size, even though the small �tropical greenhouse� room the show is held in stays the same. I would estimate that there were over 250 plants in full bloom in a greenhouse no bigger than a 2-car garage! The explosion of color in such a small area can cause you to overlook some of the smaller plants, but we try to look at each one. If somebody took the time to develop a plant and went through all of the trouble of bringing it in the middle of winter (sometimes from as far as 500 miles away!), then I should take the time to look at them all. This event is also a plant sale, but I don�t buy orchids anymore. I don�t have the proper growing environment for them to thrive. I still have a couple of sad specimens in my computer room window, but neither has bloomed since the year I bought them. I figure it isn�t fare to buy a plant that won�t be able to thrive, so I leave them for the experts. The Botanical garden always has a few tropical plants for sale at the entrance of the greenhouse. For the last few years, I have picked up something different for my indoor collection from this display. The plants are reasonably priced (they were only $3 each this year), and are much more likely to live once I bring them home than an orchid would be��.. Here is the link to all of the photos from the Dana-Thomas house and the orchid show that I have had time to crop and download. Hope you enjoy them. Oh yeah, one more thing�.. No more photos for a little while unless something interesting happens. Promise��
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