the orchidaceae today

the zygopetalum efflorescence began today --- two spikes and a third in its infancy

both of the alien oncidium are showing forth, one with two spikes and the other with one --- nice fragrance in the mernings

the dendrobium and big urnge continue on as well, with the latter having a nascent second spike  

i kept moving today

robt was over and we walked to atl bot gdn and then through the dogwood festival and then to get something to eat and then walked the dog and then went back to the dogwood festival --- great weather

one of the more awesome sights of the day was the hipster dude tooling up the sidewalk on peachtree street, riding his one-wheel hoverboard, chatting on his cell phone, and pulling a small child in a wagon behind

the western viewshed

since i moved here in dec 2005, fifteen high-rises, mostly apartments, have been completed or are nearly so, just within my viewshed, which is basically south of fourteenth street and west of peachtree --- another three are coming out of the ground and will be completed next year ---almost as many have been built within six or eight blocks north and east of here --- the image above is a composite of images from 2006 --- inexplicably, i did not continue the panorama to the south --- i am an idiot for not making a better record of all the building construction i've witnessed



i also realized that one can see at least ninety-five buildings in that same viewshed, ranging in age from 1888 to day before yesterday --- plus crescent avenue, which marks the route of the antebellum peachtree road through midtown

skyline

i took this panorama this morning and started looking at it closely and was surprised at what all i could see, the oldest thing being one spire of sacred heart (1897) --- i'm working on a comprehensive list. but there are probably a hundred in my viewshed

spring sunday

a fine, uncrowded morning at atl bot gdn --- the threat of rain kept people away

and then ethiopian feast!

bang bang

transition

big urnge is making its show --- and i'm thinking about how you know if someone is about to die --- i remember how iris was at the end --- am i seeing the same thing with one of my oldest friends?

update on the orchidaceae

 the yellow oncidium has been at it since january but is fading now --- still it has the excellent habit of retaining its blossoms to more or less dry on the stem

i call this stalwart of the oncidium alliance "big urnge" --- pseudobulb, leaves, and blossoms are all large --- the first stem is around 30" long and is just starting to open --- a second stem is close behind ---

but one of the space-alien pair has two nice stems open and the other one of the pair has a nice single stem in full flower ---

the dendrobium is looking nice, but would look better if i had not broken a second stem --- the zygopetalum has two stems that may start opening next week --- 

and the white phaleonopsis that cousin mae gave me at christmas is still wonderful, three months later

spring fever

another sunday morning at atl bot gdn, con robert, sans mary --- i was surprised at how little had been damaged by the late freeze, although there were some sad plants here and there

a surprise this morning was the atlanta bonsai society show, which precipitated this:  a common sight at the garden is a husband/boyfriend who had just as soon not be there, but this twenty-something guy was all about the bonsai --- had a shirt on with "bacon, beer, and bonsai" on the front --- i had to compliment him and found out that while he really liked bonsai, he couldn't really afford to buy any and besides they take so much time on a very regular basis and he was all into dirt biking right now, which didn't have all of those immediate requirements --- he will be my husband in my next life, in spite of the bacon

this is on a very large native azalea that i was sure would be ruined in last week's freeze --- but it wasn't at all

west midtown

robt and i gave some foot traffic to the west side and went over to the goat farm spring show --- great walk, if the ongoing demolition of the old tenth st baptist church was a little disappointing

i think they made a mistake branding it "west midtown" --- it bears few comparisons to midtown proper

way too early for spring

the red oak across the street is at least three weeks early and likewise the dogwood and bearded iris here and there --- all i can think of is how this means an extra three weeks or month of miserable, sweltering summer --- but maybe not

an image from olden times

judy dalton, myself, and michele glankler, my first girlfriend, ca. 1966 --- she posted this today but we can't remember the occasion --- i think we are both in our six-flags-over-georgia work getups

west downtown

dog got left at home again today while i did a loop over to vine city via techwood drive, centennial park, and magnolia street underpass--- fitbit figures it was 6.79 miles ---

grace towns hamilton's house (1950) is in ruinous condition and her father's house (1910) next door is fire damaged and boarded up --- the herndon house looks good but all of the morris brown buildings are boarded up and deteriorating ---

a great boulder marks the grave of atlanta university's first president, massachusetts-born edmund asa ware (1837-1885) ---

a sad lonely corner of the city these days

the sign says it's a "a true public-private partnership," whatever that means --- the taxpayers build a building that mercedes-benz can use for a billboard ---- grrrrrr