Cuban greenhouse

They say that sometimes you can see the coast of Cuba from Key West on a clear day.   Has anyone done this?   I was living in Miami, Florida back in the middle 60's.   Living next door was a man who had recently come from Cuba.   A very pleasant individual who saw me planting some seeds in starter pots.   

You know the kind, the tray with the clear plastic cover to keep the moisture and the warmth in.

It makes like a mini greenhouse.   This man showed me how to make a very inexpensive seed starting mini greenhouse.   I decided to use the method that he had shown me many years ago.   I took am empty 2-liter soda bottle.

And I cut a portion of the bottom of the plastic bottle off.

Then I cut a long slit along the side.   Can you see it?   I have circled it in yellow.

It is really hard to see because the plastic bottle is clear.   This slit allows me to collapse the upper half of the bottle some so that it can slip into the bottom portion.   So far. so good?

I put some potting soil in the bottom portion, plant my seed, add some water, and then slip the top portion of the bottle over the bottom portion.   I take it outside and put it into a semi-shaded area.    I leave the bottle cap off so that the heat can vent some through the top of the bottle.    I wouldn't want to make it too hot.

After a few days my seed has sprouted and is rapidly growing.

Here is a nicer picture of my seedling.

What kind of a plant is this going to grow into?   A passion vine with the most beautiful flowers imaginable.

I would like to give thanks to this man from Cuba who was kind enough to take the time to show me this.  I can't remember his name and so I call this method a Cuban Seed Starting Greenhouse.   I hope that all of you have fun making your own Cuban Seed Starting Greenhouse.   Have a great day.      Lew

Whistler's Mother

Whistler's Mother

I have taken up a new hobby, Stamp collecting.   I like the older commemorative stamps of the United States.   Since these stamps commemorate some event in history I figured that it must have been something of historical significance.   I got some of these commemorative stamps which were very inexpensive and started looking up the history of each stamp on-line.   My first stamp was Whistler's Mother.   We all remember the famous painting.   But there is a story behind the painting which I was not aware of until I started to research it.   I got the description below from the internet but I don't remember the site so regrettably I am not able to give credit.

The Mothers in America stamp was issued on Mother’s day (May 2) 1934 after a campaign by the American War Mother’s group. The design is James McNeil Whistler’s famous 1871 painting, “Portrait of my Mother” or “An Arrangement in Grey and Black”, which is more commonly known as “Whistler’s Mother”. The story behind the painting is that the original model for the painting became ill and Whistler’s mother volunteered to replace here. His mother’s health was not the best, and it was necessary for her to sit for the painting instead of standing as originally planned.

Over the decades, the painting became very well known and by the time the postage stamp was issued, it was considered one of America’s most famous paintings. The artwork was cropped to fit the standard stamp design and some of the elements of the original paint were modified to balance the new dimensions; flowers were added and a picture was removed from the wall. A number of artists were unhappy about the changes, but the stamp itself proved to be popular with the public.

Can you spot the differences mentioned above between the stamp and the original painting?   The picture on the wall that is obscured somewhat and the flowers that were added?

Original painting.

 Stamp

I thought that the story was interesting and I learned a lot of new facts that I hadn't known before.   I am enjoying this inexpensive hobby.   Is the stamp above mine?   No, that is an unused new stamp.   My stamp below is a used stamp with the unsightly cancellation marks on it.   Used stamps are a lot cheaper than the unused stamps.

Have a great day and live your life to the fullest.        Lew

Panzer Tank

I went to Disney World this week.   They have various theme parks like the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Disney Hollywood Studios.   I chose to go to the Disney Hollywood Studios.   One of their big attractions within the Hollywood Studios park is the Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade show.   They have numerous artifacts from the World War II era scattered around.   And one of the artifacts is a tank.

But this tank looks to be of World War I vintage.   I say this because of the shape of the body, the tread, and the side gun ports.   The treads appear to be made of rubber and look to be brand new. 

And what is that on the left hand side of the picture next to the tread.  Is it a tensioner for the track?

But for some reason I didn’t think that the World War I tanks had a revolving turret.   What do you think?  

Plus the armor on the front of the tank is not sloping.   Didn’t the early panzers not have sloping armor?   But my main reason for this blog is the symbols on the tank.

What kind of symbol is this: an eight pointed star with arabic writing on it plus the white crescent?   Were these symbols used by the Afrika Korps?  

I thought that the symbol for the Afrika Korps was the date palm.

There were so many war artifacts.   Much too numerous to include in this blog.  

Are there any panzer people reading this who may be bale to figure out what the tank is?   Have a great day.    Lew

Otter Paws

Mary and I went shopping at our local Publix grocery store today.    Publix is a grocery store chain which I believe is limited to just Florida.   Very pleasant store to shop in.   As we passed by the ice cream section we saw an ice cream flavor called Otter Paws.

The name took me by surprise.   Definitely not the usual type of name for an ice cream flavor.   I mean what do otter paws taste like.   I looked at the list of ingredients.

The ingredients look pretty good and I am confident that it will taste really good.   I guess that the name is sort of like the names of some of the Ben & Jerry ice cream flavors.   Have I tried it yet?   Not yet.   Has anyone else seen any crazy flavors names?   Can you beat "otter paws"?  

Bon appétit.    Lew

Broken Wing

One day I was driving down a dirt road at the plant in southeast Florida.   Well, actually the road was more like a crushed coral rock and dirt road.   And I saw this wounded bird.   It's wing was obviously broken as it fluttered around on the road holding its wing fanned out in an abnormal position.   I got out of my van to see if I could help it but it was too frightened.   Every time I tried to approach it, the poor bird would flutter a little further down the road with its broken wing.   I decided to go to the biology department where perhaps one of the biologists might be able to help this poor little wounded bird with the broken wing.    After arriving at the biology office I excitedly told the biologists about the wounded bird with the broken wing.   The biologists told me that the wing wasn't broken.   That this was a type of bird that nests on the ground and they use the broken wing tactic to draw predators away from their chicks by pretending to be hurt.   They said that there were lots of them nesting in the area at that particular time of year and had seen them.   They told me to watch for the chicks and the eggs and not to run over them accidentally.    They said that the eggs looked like rocks and would be difficult to spot but to try.   I returned to the area and sure enough there was a small chick.

So tiny and easily missed.   It wouldn't move.

Can anyone identify this bird for me?   I kept an eye out for the chicks in the road and gave them a wide berth as I drove far to the side of them.   I noticed all of the cars drove around them and placing as much distance as possible.   Amazingly I did not see one injured bird chick or eggs the whole time.    An awful lot of very compassionate people worked at the plant.   Here is an adult bird that I spotted sitting on its nest.

Yeah, right on top of those hard lumpy rocks.   I would think that a nice soft nest lined with down feathers high in a shady tree where it can catch a nice cool breeze would seem a lot better.   She flew away as I approached to take a picture.   I snapped a picture of the eggs.   Can you spot them?

Here is a blow-up to help you spot them.  Her eggs are speckled to make them look like rocks.   Great camouflage.   And very pretty eggs also.

I got my pictures and left immediately.    I was concerned about the eggs overheating without the mother's feathers shading them.    But that broken wing trick by the bird was very convincing.   It fooled me.   What a great adaptation.   Nature is just so amazing.   I really would like to know what kind of bird this is.   The biologists were right, they were all over the place and then after a couple of months they seemed to fly away elsewhere.   At least I didn't see them on the ground anymore.   At least not until the following year.   Have a great day.   Lew

spring is here

I know that it may be a little early but spring has arrived.   The ?????? bushes in front of the house are blooming in great profusion.  

The flowers are absolutely magnificent with such an intense color.  

There was a light rain today and so there are small rain droplets on the flowers and the leaves.   Can you guess the name of the flower?   Make a guess in the comment section and I will also make a comment after to let you know what it is.   But only after you make a comment.   You have to make a guess first. 

            In the back yard there is what some consider a weed but the flowers are so pretty that I just can’t call it a weed.

It has such a deep rich sapphire blue.   The picture just doesn't do the richness of the color justice.

But this is Florida and what would spring be without some orange blossoms on the orange tree in the backyard.

There was a bright sun when I took this picture and the flower came out too bright.   Just can’t see the detail of the flower so I darkened it some to bring out the detail.

And the aroma of the flowers is so strong.   A real sweet smell which reminds me of jasmine.   I can pick up the sweet scent when I am about five feet from the tree as I approach it.   No wonder honey bees are attracted to it.   And speaking of honey bees, orange blossom honey is my favorite.   But the prices of honey, oh my.   When I lived in San Diego there was a woman who worked at the hospital and was also a bee keeper.   She kept bees for pleasure and not as a business.   She told us to bring in a large jar and she would take it home and fill it with honey.   She would charge a dollar for this which even at that time was a ridiculously low price for the large amount of honey that she gave.   I need to find someone like that here in Orlando.

With this spring-like weather comes warmer temperatures and high humidity which we are starting to get today.  Next week the weather is forecast to be around 87.   I think that we are going to have a very warm summer thanks to global warming.    Tomorrow I will tell you all about my adventures with my resurrection plant.   Until then enjoy the day and tonight is wrestling so don’t forget to watch all of those body slams.    Be good.    Lew

The Culverts

This is the Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant.   Well actually I guess that I should say the Turkey Point Electrical Generation Plant since there are also fossil fuel electrical generation here as well.   There are four electrical generating units.   The two blue structures on the left with the smokestacks behind them are the fossil fuel units designated unit 1 and unit 2.   The two round cement structures on the right are the nuclear reactors designated unit 3 and unit 4.   A lot of electrical generation here.   But what is unique about the Turkey Point plant is the cooling method of the units.    We are always use to seeing those hyperbolic-shaped cooling towers which are associated with nuclear power plants.

But at Turkey Point a cooling canal system is used.   The canal system has a shape like a giant car radiator.

The water comes out of the plant in a discharge canal which functions much like the top of a car radiator and distributes the water to the cooling canals which is like he core of the radiator where the cooling actually takes place.   Then the cooled water is collected in a return canal much like the bottom of a car radiator and is carried back to the plant to start the cycle all over again.   In the picture below you can see the temperature of the water cool as it flows from the top to the bottom of the cooling canals. 

 A very simple and effective design.   Fortunate also.    I sometimes wonder how much damage that the intense Hurricane Andrew would have done to a cooling tower.

There was a canal that was outside of the cooling canal system and had nothing to do with the cooling canals.   Since coral rock is porous and this canal is in close proximity to the cooling canal system, samples were taken from it and checked for radioactivity.   The water flow was tidal in nature.   Flowing out at low tide and flowing in at high tide.    There was three large culverts where a road passed over the canal.   This was a beautiful area and for a time was one of my favorite spots.

I use to stand on the culverts and bend down to the waters surface to get water samples.   I had done that for about a year when I happened to mention it to one of the biologists.    He strongly recommended against standing on the culverts because there was a large 11 foot crocodile who would get up close to the culverts and grab fish in her powerful jaws as the fish were carried through the culverts by the tide.   How did they know that it was a female?   I have no idea but biologists seem to know those things.

He said that there were both alligators and crocodiles in the area but that this one was a crocodile which he said is bad because crocodiles are more aggressive than alligators.   The first time that I saw this crocodile she was in the water and only inches from the bank watching me.   Waiting for me to come close to the water like in the documentaries you see when the animals come to the water to drink and the crocodiles grab them.   And that was what this one was doing.   Waiting for me to get close.   I had no idea she was there and when I spotted her by chance I was about 10 feet from the waters edge.   Much too close for comfort.   Initially I froze for about 20 seconds and then I slowly walked backwards to the car which was near.   I jumped into the car to relax and get a breather and to give time for my blood pressure and fear levels to drop back down.   After a period of time I got back out of the car and continued my work while continuously scanning the area around me.   I was behaving just like the animals in the documentaries when they come to the river to get a drink.   They take a drink and then look around for danger, then they take another quick drink and once again look around the are for danger.   Well, that was me.   Get a sample and look around for the croc.   Get another sample and look around again for the croc.   I spotted her on two more occasions that day but she was about 20 or 30 feet away and so I wasn't as terrified as I was the first time.   After that day I always looked around about every 30 seconds for the croc when I was at the culverts.   A Crocodile Dundee I wasn't.   But as the Crocodile Dundee would say, "G'day mate".   Lew