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Saturday, May 16, 2009

Cactus in Bloom

When I purchased this home on Plunkett Street four years ago, there were several plants/trees in pots all around the property ... something that I cannot abide. A tree or tropical plant in the sub-tropics should be planted in the ground if you own any kind of lot. This blooming cactus was one of these plants found in a pot.

it was about as tall as it is now, but it only had one set up leaves that were very small and a single bloom. I didn't move it, as it seemed at home next to the mail box; I planted it there.

It loses its leaves in the winter, but rewards in the spring with dark green leaves and lovely white blooms. Even with the lack of rain this year, it was a delight to see the blooms today when I went to get the mail. (click photo for enlargement.)

Friday, May 15, 2009

As the 2009 Hurricane Season Approaches ...

From CNN:

Hurricane categories to drop storm surges, flooding

The National Hurricane Center is no longer including storm surges and flooding in its hurricane categories out of concern that people aren't heeding proper warnings, because the surges haven't always matched the levels predicted in each category.

When Hurricane Ike slammed into the Texas coast last year with Category 2 winds (96-110 mph), it had a storm surge of 15 to 20 feet. That's a level more in line with the scale's description of a Category 5 storm, which has winds greater than 155 mph. A Category 2 hurricane, the Saffir-Simpson scale said, was likely to bring a storm surge of only 6 to 8 feet.

Ike was the third most destructive storm ever to make landfall in the United States. It was responsible for at least nine deaths, eight of which were in Texas.

Full Story

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Happy Mother's Day, 2009

Got my new camera on Friday and I'm still learning how to use it.

For the occasion of Mother's Day, I stepped "inside" my avocado tree in the front yard and snapped this picture.



(Click picture for full view)

Blooms of Plunkett

Blooms of Plunkett
A Banana tree in the backyard in full bloom