I enjoyed a brief stroll with my daughter at the historic Thomas Center in Gainesville, FL this afternoon. Since it's Camellia Time, I've taken this opportunity to post photos of some of the blooms to be seen on the grounds as Spring begins.
[click on images to enlarge]
Camellias are gorgeous this time of year in Florida. Some blooms are as broad as compact discs (items the present generation will fondly remember as "CD's"). The evanescent blooms of these and other flowers are much prettier and more important.
A white Camellia photographed in deep shade. I can't look at red and white Camellias blooming together without thinking of Alice in Wonderland. The rest of the world may associate that story's Red Queen with roses (or beheading) - the War of the Roses, and all that - but really, Camellias trump roses in terms of form and grace. This from a botanist who grew up around roses who now lives in the South where fine roses are scarce and mostly outside of their climatic range, and where Camellias in large part do just fine, provided they are nurtured with proper soil amendments on occasion.
Let us not forget that Azaleas are just now coming into season. OK you gardeners. Let's put you on notice. You want your Camellias and Azaleas to bloom? You'd better consult your local garden club, nursery, or private afficionado: These two species set their next year's buds at specific times of the year. Find out when your favorite shrubs set their buds lest you trim the shrubs and unknowingly (ignorantly) remove the buds in a flurry of Fall or Spring trimming and clean-up. You can find out. Look. Ask. Inquire. Your landscape will look better for it.
A couple enjoying the sunshine and fair weather on the Thomas Center grounds. The pair lends a sense of scale to the evergreen southern live oak tree in the right-hand side of the image.
Camellia, Azalea, Gainesville Florida, gardens
It's Camellia Time in north central Florida. Nowhere near Clog House Est. 1935 can a prettier display of these stately shrubs be found than our local cemetery. The bushes are old and tall, and just now thickly adorned with blooms big as a man's fist.
Clog-Wife and I take a weekly stroll through the lovely cemetery with our Corgis every Sunday afternoon. It's a routine outing that we anticipate all weekend. We noted today that azaleas are beginning to bloom, and with redbuds and dogwood trees will soon storm the stage as the Camellias make their exit. Soon the cemetery will be arrayed in a bedazzling tide of pinks and whites and reds.
Peaceful strolls midst the South's loveliest flowers await. For now, its Camellia Time, and we are awed by this most regal of garden species.
Camellia, Florida, cemetery, flowers, gardening
At Clog House Est. 1935 we're currently re-reading Mark Helprin's lovely collection of stories entitled The Pacific. Helprin is one of our favorite American authors, so the rereading is quite pleasing, and as always, uplifting. Don't miss the reviews here, here and here.
We don't quite subscribe to Mr. Helprin's politics, but his novels and stories are filled with luminous archetypal characters and luminous themes that are cast in surprising and wonderful ways. His subjects are extremely varied and the resulting inventions both clever and awe-inspiring. As always, the imagery is precise, enlightening, and nearly overwhelming. In this backdrop, the themes expressed border on the sublime. War; Light; Water; Honor; Love; Family; Home; Aging. One wonders how another could conceive of such wondrously woven tales, and is left pondering and measuring one's existence after reading them.
Helprin, Mark Helprin, Pacific, short stories, archetypes, American literature
I enjoyed a fine stroll through wild Florida today. Detailed account and photographs are found at my other blog, In Praise of Walking. Though the day was overcast, it was not cold. In fact, my fleece vest proved to be too much for the weather and I ended up carrying it most of the afternoon.
Florida, walking, nature, wild Florida
Wesley Snipes is on trial for two felony charges: conspiracy to defraud the government, and filing a false tax claim. The trial will be held in Ocala, Florida, down the road a piece from Clog House Est. 1935.
See a copy of the original indictment at The Smoking Gun.
Playing the Race Card: Snipes has made two motions to have the trial moved to New York, declaring that the town of Ocala is racist and that he can't get a fair trial there. That would be the whole town. A federal appeals court recently denied those two petitions.
Playing Another Race Card: Snipes also made a motion to have the charges dropped on the basis of selective prosecution. Snipes' two named co-defendants are persons not-of-color, and are not being charged for failure to file tax returns. Snipes maintains he is being selectively charged and tried on the basis of his race.
Local TV news ran a short report last night. Jury selection has been long and tedious, and apparently one of the primary questions being asked potential jurors is whether they are capable of making a fair decision given the race of the defendant. Really that is asking if they are capable of being fair or unbiased given the fact that they are people-not-of-color. That tastes slightly racist.
Snipes attended a prayer service before court yesterday.Wesley Snipes, race card, tax fraud, taxes, racism
Since my initial November 14th sighting of wild hog piglets along a busy stretch of US441 northwest of Gainesville, Fl, I've observed the fat black things rooting along the side of the right-of-way every couple of days. I'm on my way home at the usual time and spot them in the exact same place, unfailingly and nearly precisely at 5:30 p.m.
Apparently, wild pigs have schedules and routines, just like I do, and mine has converged with that of a porcine lot.
What separates we humans from the baser animals? Cross "an awareness of time and place" and "schedules" off of your list. Next we'll find out that the wild pigs watch Green Acres reruns for a chance to see Arnold Ziffel, the pig.
wild hogs, wild pigs, Florida, humans, time, schedule
Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister, has taken a job on Wall St., joining global financial services giant JPMorgan Chase, in the capacity of Senior Advisor. Mr. Blair will also be a member of the company's International Council. Salary: estimated at $1 Million. Nice gig!
Tony Blair, Prime Minister, Great Britain, England, Wall Street, JPMorgan Chase, global banking, financial services, banks, banking
Sir Edmund Hillary, the New Zealand beekeeper who was the first to scale the world's tallest peak, is dead at 88.
Edmund Hillary, Mount Everest, New Zealand, Everest, mountaineering, Hillary
This week-before-Christmas your friends at The Clog Almanac found ourselves in some incongruous juxtapositions that just might fit the very definition of surreal:
While walking our two crippled rescue Corgis in an open field and counting a flock of about 400 American robins that had been previously feeding noisily in turns on drupes of the large camphor tree in the yard of Clog House Est. 1935, our eyes were drawn earthward from the skyborn tomato-soup-colored breasts of these south-wintering thrush-cousins by the more dulcet tones of a familiar melody blaring from the speakers of an ice-cream van slowly making its way through our north Florida neighborhood.
The van slowed, stopped, and the the driver's window rolled down. It was just then, as the music abruptly ceased, that we recognized the tune as the dreydl song. The red-cheeked gray-haired lady driving the van assumed a beneficent smile fit for the Pope, mustered a restrained Queen Elizabeth hand-wave at us, and shouted in a slow drawl as completely Florida-southern as smoked mullet, grits and fried okra, "It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!"
We stood motionless, trying to process the scene while the van with its good-willed occupant lumbered away and the Hanukkah music resumed.
robin, corgi, clog almanac, surreal, surrealism, Christmas, Chanukkah, Hanukkah, dreidl, dreidel, dreydl, Yiddish, Florida
Clog-wife and I walked our two corgis before sunrise on this last Saturday of Autumn.
A soft rain came this morning just before first light, pattering on the unraked red oak leaves and gently drumming on the tin roof of Clog-house Est. 1935. The wife went back to bed, the dogs settled into drowsy silence and I had the calm and quiet world to myself. Rather than retire and nap until breakfast, I chose to take advantage of the peacefulness and spend time on the screened porch listening to the first stirrings of the birds and other creatures, and quietly intoning some of my tunes on the fiddle.
Gordon Lightfoot must have spent some days contemplating an early morning rain.
fiddle tunes, morning rain, first light, Gordon Lightfoot, corgi
Michael Vick shoes will make you faster. He said so on this Nike Endorsement video. Not quite the other Mike, yeah? Gotta love Vick's pitbull terrier cameo, no? Obi-Wan Kenobi says "there is no disconnect here. Let Michael Vick be known for who he is."
Michael Vick, Nike endorsement, pitbull, Vick, Vick shoe, dog fighting, Michael Jordan
An article that lays out a chronlongy of suicide bombings in Afghanistan is here. Would you agree that the pace of violence has increased in that country?
The "Surge" of U.S. troops seems to be working in Iraq, if standard sources are to be believed. The Clog Almanac warns that thinking that the war on terrorism is being won in that place may be a hasty judgement at best. Faced with sure defeat and destruction in Iraq, insurgent groups and individuals may in fact be doing what they have always done in those societies: melt away and regroup to fight another day, elsewhere. Iran must be walking a fine line since it's purported terrorist-support and nuclear development activities are under the international microscope. Perhaps the decline in violence in Iraq is related to Iran's decreased support of terrorism in that theater.
In the case of Iraq, insurgents who would otherwise be fighting and mounting suicide attacks may be looking for quieter venues in which to ply their deadly trade. They leave the battlefield, bombing and other incident stats go down, and the U.S. reports that the Surge is working. Maybe "it's working" because the enemy is quietly withdrawing. It doesn't take a genius to come up with a list of places where the U.S. and its allies are not concentrating their war, where terrorism and the advancement of enemy ideals might be less expected:
Some insurgent groups may be heading for Afghanistan, to join with the Taliban's push to gain influence. Others may be regrouping farther afield in places like Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, or certain African countries. Pakistan? Why not pile into that currently unstable country where tribalism and lawless border areas are the norm and where there are nuclear weapons within reach?
Calls for the beginning of the end of terrorism and international turmoil and violence are immature, in the Clog Almanac's opinion.
The spate of absolutely gorgeous Fall days continues in north-central Florida. Yesterday I nabbed a shovelfull of native Fall-blooming sunflowers from a larger population on an out-of-the-way county right-of-way and transplanted them into my butterfly garden. This species, Helianthus angustifolius, the narrow-leaf swamp sunflower.
Today's drive home found me admiring the sunset when of a sudden I noticed 5 wild piglets snuffling around at the edge of a tree line bordering US 441 and wildlands on the NW side of Gainesville Florida near the City of Gainesville's Deerhaven power plant, operated by Gainesville Regional Utilities. The adult(s) were no doubt ensconced in the vegetation.
One morning last year I toured the 1400+ acres of wildlands associated with the coal-powered generation station that are part of a state-recognized "stewardship forest". That day I saw wild hogs, turkeys, white-tailed deer and a bobcat, and many local bird species. Kudos to the company foresters/land managers who are creating and maintaining a diverse mosaic of natural forest communities so wildlife can thrive so close to a growing urban area.
GRU, wild hogs, bobcat, coal-fired, power plant, Helianthus angustifolius, sunflower, Florida, wildlife
You've probably already heard the current "Only-in-Florida" story about the car thief who, despite warnings from alarmed witnesses, dived into a pond to elude capture by police, only to be captured by an alligator. Divers found his remains 50 feet below the surface. There is no punch line to this story, unless some clever reader supplies it via comments to this post.
Florida, Florida Gators, gator, alligator, stupid criminals, Miccosukee, Indian reservation, casino, resort crime
Accent, a University of Florida student organization, is finalizing a contract to pay $40,000 to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to speak at an event on November 19, 2007. The free event is for both students and public alike. Gonzales, the grandson of (at least 3 of 4 grandparents) illegal immigrants, has no accent, by the way. Gonzales speaks English as well, and probably better, than you do, so don't spout that "he doesn't talk like us" crap). Oh, you don't like that, do you? My my. Speakers' fees are paid for by semester charges to students (or whomever pays the tuition and bills [MOM and/or DAD, no doubt]).
Totally aside, Sean Hannity, the captious pedant right-wing talk-show host was paid $75,000 for a similar appearance in Gainesville, FL. Again, the entertainers are paid more than the politicians. At the event Hannity took a jab at Hillary Clinton, saying that "It takes a village to satisfy my husband". If you've listened to Hannity before, you'd know you wouldn't put that sort of cheap shot above him. He doesn't spout this sort of thing on his radio and TV broadcasts because he knows that it is cheap blather unworthy of him and the advertising-sponsored networks on which he's franchised. He should know better.
Alberto Gonzales, Attorney General, Sean Hannity, Hillary Clinton, UF speaking fees speech, repuclicans, democrats, right wing, politics
One in five don't practice good hygiene. Are you the 5th guy? You know, the one that doesn't wash his/her hands after using the restroom or changing the baby in the airport facilities? The one who sneezes and coughs on everyone in the staff meeting? The one who lets their diapered kids reach down their pants and then touch the restaurant table, shopping cart and drinking fountain handles or toys at the day care?
Meet your buddy The 5th Guy at his MySpace page.
The whole thing is a clever creation of the Florida Department of Health. Do us a favor and don't be the 5th Guy. And by the way, keep your hands out of your pants.
5th Guy, fifth guy, Florida, Florida Health Department, personal hygiene, superbugs, super germs, MRSA, hand washing
Confused about when U.S. states hold their presidential primaries? Go here to get a list of BOTH the republican and democratic parties' primary election schedules.
United States, presidential primary, primary dates, Iowa primary, New Hampshire, state primaries, Florida primary, Michigan primary, Nevada primary, primary election, presidential candidates, democrats, republicans, Hillary Clinton, U.S. election
The Clog Almanac wishes everyone a happy Guy Fawkes Day. Remember, remember, the 5th of November.
However, the world has had enough of folks blowing up stuff , themselves, and eachother, lately. Enough is enough.
Guy Fawkes, bomb plot, England, suicide attack, suicide bomber, terrorism, terrorist, Islamic militant
Our clever friends at The Office gave us a prank that we're itching to try.
Using Pavlov's teaching theory, Jim teaches Dwight to want mints.
NBC, The Office, comedy, video clips, Altoids, mints, office pranks, Office series
Check out this short video clip to see how easy and inexpensive it could be to produce electricity from wind on a small scale. This windbelt invention is lauded at ScribeMedia:
wind power, generator, electricity, wind, green electricity
I enjoyed a brief stroll with my daughter at the historic Thomas Center in Gainesville, FL this afternoon. Since it's Camellia Time, I've taken this opportunity to post photos of some of the blooms to be seen on the grounds as Spring begins.
Camellias are gorgeous this time of year in Florida. Some blooms are as broad as compact discs (items the present generation will fondly remember as "CD's"). The evanescent blooms of these and other flowers are much prettier and more important.
A white Camellia photographed in deep shade. I can't look at red and white Camellias blooming together without thinking of Alice in Wonderland. The rest of the world may associate that story's Red Queen with roses (or beheading) - the War of the Roses, and all that - but really, Camellias trump roses in terms of form and grace. This from a botanist who grew up around roses who now lives in the South where fine roses are scarce and mostly outside of their climatic range, and where Camellias in large part do just fine, provided they are nurtured with proper soil amendments on occasion.
Let us not forget that Azaleas are just now coming into season. OK you gardeners. Let's put you on notice. You want your Camellias and Azaleas to bloom? You'd better consult your local garden club, nursery, or private afficionado: These two species set their next year's buds at specific times of the year. Find out when your favorite shrubs set their buds lest you trim the shrubs and unknowingly (ignorantly) remove the buds in a flurry of Fall or Spring trimming and clean-up. You can find out. Look. Ask. Inquire. Your landscape will look better for it.
