Laying the foundation for the Florida garden

It's January and in Florida

that means it's time to start the garden.

I'm working very hard to stay organized so this year I am using the little peat pellets to start my heirloom seeds and I'm going to clean and save the plastic trays for next year.  

I promise!

Even though it's "dead of winter" here in central Florida

my orchids are going nuts.

Old Reliable.

This one only blooms about every other year but I moved it this summer and I'm thinking it likes it's new position on the patio.

Brassavola nodosa (one of the few names I remember) usually blooms for me in warmer weather.  The scent only comes out at night and the cooler weather seems to have damped that down.  Still, pretty to look at.

Subtle encyclia doing its thing.

This orchid rhynchostylis doesn't bloom much for me and is SO SLOW to grow.  I would move it but the first thing it ever did was to entwine its roots in the fence, so there it remains.  

Happy to see a cluster of buds!

(I would like to mention that I am listening to YouTube "8 Hour Tibetan Meditation Music" on headphones and it is JUST. RIGHT.  Try it next time you're surrounded by screaming children.)

Very excited about this cataleya!

I bought it last February and the seller promised it would be easy to grow and 

though I've heard that before,

maybe, just maybe, he was telling the truth.

The bloom is supposed to be fragrant, which is always a selling point for me.

All this orchid activity has kind of hammered home the realization:

I want flashy orchids!!!

I've had it UP TO HERE with subtle beauty!

Things are gonna change...

Change continues in my backyard...

I'm done buying stepping stones, and I'm done searching Craig's list for chunks of cement.

I'm making my own stepping stones now,

and as you can see, many of them are embellished by the hens.  

It's still HEAVY work but I can feel the calcium being forced into my bones

 with every 50lb bag I unload.

The final step will be filling in the spaces with drain field gravel.

Gratuitous cute dog photo!!!

Yes, yes, thwarted motherhood and all that but who can argue with a dog that never grows larger than a puppy and loves to be cuddled?!

Can't cuddle this,

but it's adorable all the same.

Occasionally, as I dig in my yard, I uncover the brittle round eggs of geckos.  Since I've irreparably disturbed their nesting place, I bring the eggs inside...and wait.

Cute little house geckos emerge and hunt palmetto bugs at night.

My dad would turn in his grave if he saw this!

That's a DVD of "The Life Aquatic" playing while I drive!

Thankfully, my dad's not dead, and I don't actually watch the DVD but listen to the dialogue and cool soundtrack of Seu Jorge singing David Bowie songs in Portuguese.

Feeling expansive love for Wes Anderson films...

(did I mention this awesome "8 Hour Tibetan Meditation Music" I'm listening to?)

And here is a place I must never again visit

for to do so is to court rotten teeth and some sort of chronic adult onset illness,

but those who know me know how much I love marshmallows and these are heavenly.

I'm digging the graphics, too!