Shingles and other…fun

This week started off pretty normal. On Monday, I had my knitting guild meeting, which I attended on Zoom.

 
Tuesday, my hubby finally talked me into going to the doctor about this rash on my arm. It seems like the pain is getting worse, and by Monday night, it was very hot and hurt to touch. So, off to the doctor we go. I thought it might be poison ivy, and hubby thought it was a spider bite. Nope, it is shingles! I didn’t think I had ever had chicken pox, so I couldn’t get the vaccine, and didn’t think I would get shingles. I did have a touch of it somewhere along the line in the past 65 years so here I am with shingles! The doctor says the shingles are due to stress, and I need to find a way to deal with it.

On Wednesday, we went to exercise class and I struggled with some of the exercises, but I think the exercise is good for my stress levels.

Thursday, we went car shopping, not that we need a new car, but we have been thinking about getting a new car with all the safety features. We want another Prius if we get a new car because ours is 11 years old. Of course, we aren’t in a rush, so we are just looking.

On Friday, we went back to exercise class and then ran errands. Hubby mowed the lawn when we got back, and the weather was perfect for that. After lunch, I spent the day knitting. I haven’t been working on my big shawl project because of the pain, but I finished some little projects like 2 charity hats and a washcloth.

On Saturday, we went to an Antique Festival where my hubby found lots of treasures. I saw interesting things but resisted the urge to buy things. We did some car shopping (remember - not ready to buy, just looking) and somehow I lost my hubby’s favorite sunglasses. Luckily, I went on Amazon and ordered him another pair (which helped get me out of the doghouse!). The rest of the day, we watched my great-niece’s softball games online, and I was so glad her team won both of them!

I'm so happy to see all my flowers blooming, and they make me feel happy!

Original photos by Pat Hensley

Butterflies and Hummingbirds

I love my butterfly bush and love watching it grow. Every fall or winter, we cut it back to about 2 ft. above the ground. Then in the summer it almost grows as tall as the house. The beautiful purple blooms make me smile. This week I’ve watched swallowtail butterflies and hummingbirds stop to have a meal. 

Original photos by Pat Hensley

Spring Time

I love spring! I love seeing the flowers bloom. It is a sign of rebirth and new growth. Spring makes me feel happy and excited about life. 

Unfortunately, it is also a time for pollen which means itchy eyes, sniffling, sneezing, and sounding hoarse. 

I thought I’d share with you some pictures of flowers from my yard. 

Gardening Fun

Yesterday, my hubby and I repotted a bunch of snake plants. First, he drilled holes in the bottom of my new flower pots and then I put a coffee filter in the bottom of each one. He helped me put potting soil in each one. Then we had to separate the snake plants in these cheap plastic containers. We had so many leftovers that we planted some in the garden around the back patio. I ended up throwing away some because there was nowhere else to plant. Then we transplanted the firecracker bush from the side of the house to the garden around the shed. Hopefully, tomorrow when it is cooler, I will take up all the concrete scallop edging and let the grass fill in on the side of the house. Since we never see that side, it is a waste of time to plant flowers over there.

I have an online friend, Maddie, (aka Madgardener) who has been my online friend since 1998. When I got first got on the internet on the computer, I found a chat room called rec.gardens. We became gardening friends there and eventually transitioned to Facebook and continue to be friends. She is always posting wonderful pictures of her plants and I promised her that I would post some pictures of our plants here in Florida.

Snake plants in front of the living room

Orchid and Angel Wing Begonia

Candlestick Plant

Night Blooming Cereus

Aloe and Firecracker plant

A Walk in the Neighborhood

This morning, some friends came over for an early morning walk in the neighborhood on the Swamp Rabbit It was fun to see some houses decorated for Halloween. It was also nice to see the plants along the trail too! What a great way to start the day! 

Original Photos by Pat Hensley

Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge

Last week we visited the Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge which is the northern section of the Everglades. The visitor center has reopened Thursday - Sunday 9-4 so we went in to see what was new. We found out that there was a ranger-led walk that started in 10 minutes at the Marsh Trail so we hurried to the meeting spot. This is offered every Friday at 10am and it was the first day of the tour. There are several other events that take place each week.

We met Lowell Markey at the meeting place and ended up being the only participants. Lowell went on to explain the history of the Everglades and how the Water Conservation Areas came in existence. While we were sitting there, we could hear the Sandhill Cranes calling each other. He mentioned a book, The Everglades: River of Grassby Marjory Stoneman Douglas.

Then we started our walk around one of the drainage areas. Here are the many things we observed:

• Sandhill crane
• Everglades
• Cabbage palm - state tree
• Strangler Fig
• West Indies Mahogany tree
• Wax Myrtle - edge tree; the leaves were very fragrant
• Catbird
• String/swamp lily
• Giant Leather fern
• Pickerel weed
• Arrowhead plant
• Duck potato - white flower with yellow button
• White water Lily - not invasive
• Cocoa plum - plum is almost black when ripe
• Sea grape
• Sawgrass - marsh plant; blade is v shaped with sharp edges
• Red tassel flower
• Turkey vulture
• Spanish needle
• Wild poinsettia
  

Lowell showed us the four different habitats of the Everglades. We saw the fruit/seed pods of the Mahogany tree and the Cocoa Plum. As we were leaving the parking lot, a family of raccoons came running down the grassy path. They looked so cute!

Original photo by Pat Hensley

The Oconee Bell

Last week we attended the Upstate Master Naturalist meeting at Devil’s Fork State Park. Kay Wade gave a presentation on “The Oconee Bell and the Fascinating History of the Men who Found It." 

The Oconee Bell:

Kingdom: Plantae

Phylum: Tracheophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Order: Ericales

Family: Diapensiaceae

Genus: Shortia

Shortia grows in Southeast Asia (Japan, China, Vietnam)  and Southeast US (NC and SC). Both areas have  temperate climate, similar elevations and abundant rainfall.

Before 1970, Oconee bells grew throughout Jocassee Valley.

Andre Michaux discovered and collected it but didn’t name it or describe it.

In 1839, Asa Gray visited Paris and found a specimen of the plant in Michaux’s herbarium. Gray seized the opportunity to name the plant for Kentucky botanist Charles W. Short. Gray searched the Southern Appalachians but never found the plant.

It was rediscovered by Mordecai Hyams in 1877. Hyams was the manager of Wallace Brothers’ “botanic depot,” a warehouse in Statesville. Hyams had a group of mountain people who collected herbs in the forests, then traded them to local shopkeepers, who then shipped the plants to Statesville in return for wholesale goods such as salt and kerosene from the Wallace Brothers’ other businesses.  

Asa Gray, John Redfield, and Charles Sargent visited the site of Hyam’s Shortia discovery in 1878. Sargent found it growing the Jocassee Gorges area in 1888.

Shortia Galacifolia was planted on Gray’s grave after he died.

Margaret Mills who lived in Walhalla, transcribed Michaux’s journal into English.

Charlie Williams went to Paris in 2004 to find Michaux’s Shortia specimen.

Amy and Chris Blackwell, and Patrick McMillan are photographing herbarium specimens for the world to study.

This was a great presentation and I really enjoyed learning about the Oconee Bell. Hearing the history of how it was found, lost, rediscovered was very interesting! If you get a chance around March each year, go to Devil’s Fork State Park and look for the Oconee Bell.

Oconee Bells

Last week I went on a hike with a ranger at our local state park to see the Oconee Bells. This is a rare flower that is only found only in the mountains of SC, NC, and GA and they bloom from mid March to early April. These flowers were found by Andre Michaux, a French botanist, in June 1787 even though many say it was in December of 1788. (We know this because he brought evidence of them back to Versaille that was dated 1787.) Years later , Asa Gray, an American botanist, gave these flowers their Latin name: Shortia galacifolia named after Dr. Charles W. Short. Dr. Charles Sargent saw the plant about 100 years after Michaux and gave it the common name Oconee Bell. Amazingly, none of these men had ever seen this plant in bloom.

In his journal, Michaux wrote about finding these flowers in the high mountains and people searched for these plants for years. For Michaux, after coming to America and starting out in Charleston, Oconee County seemed like the high mountains to him when in reality it was the piedmont. It was a 17 year old trout fisherman who found them on the banks of the river and brought it home to show his dad, who happened to be a botanist. For years, they sold these plants to people for their gardens.

These plants reproduce from runners that come from the established plant. Apparently there are seeds but whatever dispersed the seeds to make new plants isn’t around anymore. When people began to pick these flowers for their own yards, it made the number decline which makes them a rare plant now.

Thankfully the park service is doing a great job of educating people about this plant and trying to preserve it. There is a great 1 mile nature trail called the Oconee Bell Nature Trail that brings people to areas where they bloom. If you ever have a chance to visit the park, this is worth seeing in March and April. The trail is nice any time of year but to see the Oconee Bells, your best chance is in March or April.

Original photo by Pat Hensley