Monday, January 9, 2023

January - Antarctic Memories - Amaryllis Blooms.


Two of the re-blooming amaryllis are quite lovely and doing well in the dining room, They are several years old and have spent outdoor time planted in the garden in summer months where they threw up bright green leaves, waving to the hot breezes, and a couple of years beautiful flowers appeared unexpectedly. Later, returned to their pots for winter, they bloomed again indoors. 
 

You can see the taller one is huge - 31 inches from top of bulb to tip of three huge flowers. There is also a new stem with bud peeping out at the base which is exciting! The other one, shorter, has two flowers tinged with pink, and being the older plant I think struggled to make it again, but it did and it's really lovely. In the rear is another pot with not much happening - in fact I've just cut back its two tall leaves to see if it will make a growth spurt with a stem - we'll have to wait and see.





January is not always a great month, especially if you don't enjoy the colder weather of the northern hemisphere, however it does sometimes bring surprises and now and then, wonderful memories. On this day in 2013 I was heading south toward Ushuaia, Argentina - via a colorful stop in Buenos Aires - to board an expedition ship for a 3-week adventure to Antarctica. It will always be the most exciting, memorable time of my life. . . . .and definitely of January!

Enjoy your January days. . . . . . . .embrace life.

Monday, January 2, 2023

. . . . . . .fogged in!



A stratus cloud that touches ground level is referred to as fog. Water vapor condenses and mixes in the cool air, forming tiny wet droplets.  It can reduce visibility and cause life to take pause and slow down. The formation of stratus clouds occurs when a sheet of cool air passes under a sheet of moist, warm air. Stratus is the Latin word meaning to spread out or layer.



This morning............





Personally I like a foggy morning. Shrouds of grey enveloping the trees behind the house, muted sounds, silence. Staying indoors, I glance through the windows and see a blank slate for the day ahead. Nothing stirs. When the sun breaks through the colors start to glow. . . . . . . . and life goes on.

Sunday, January 1, 2023