Some recent pictures from a dance rehearsal. There are more here.
Dress rehearsal I
Rogers Ballet, May 2018. Click to see larger and with better color; right-click and open in a new window to see at the largest size. Dancers and others involved with Rogers Ballet are welcome to right-click and download pictures.
Rogers Ballet, May 2018. Click to see larger and with better color; right-click and open in a new window to see at the largest size. Dancers and others involved with Rogers Ballet are welcome to right-click and download pictures.
Phalaenopsis, again
An unnamed Phalaenopsis hybrid. The label says Dtps ________ (Blessed ‘Walnut Valley’ HCC 76 pts x Phal Talsuco Date ‘Max’ HCC 77 pts) BKR/MCT SC1511 Unflasked 09/29/2012 “Dtps” is the abbreviation for “Doritaenopsis,” i.e., a hybrid between Doritis pulcherrima and a Phalaenopsis. However, the genus Doritis has recently been lumped into Phaleanopsis, so the Dtps … Continue reading “Phalaenopsis, again”
An unnamed Phalaenopsis hybrid. The label says
Dtps ________
(Blessed ‘Walnut Valley’ HCC 76 pts
x Phal Talsuco Date ‘Max’ HCC 77 pts)
BKR/MCT SC1511
Unflasked 09/29/2012
“Dtps” is the abbreviation for “Doritaenopsis,” i.e., a hybrid between Doritis pulcherrima and a Phalaenopsis. However, the genus Doritis has recently been lumped into Phaleanopsis, so the Dtps label is obsolete, and this plant is entirely a Phalaenopsis.
To see the three-dimensional images, cross your eyes so that pairs of images overlap, forming three images. Focus on the middle image, and the picture should snap into 3-D.
A “keiki” at the tip of a spent Phalaenopsis equestris bloom spike.
Phalaenopsis and something more
A couple of recent acquisitions. Look closely. I got a little something extra with this one. And yet another view of my Phalaenopsis equestris. Some alien-looking seedlings of Leuchtenbergia principis. This one was composed from 113 separate images. And a Nigella. Update: Now in stereo.
A couple of recent acquisitions.
Look closely. I got a little something extra with this one.
And yet another view of my Phalaenopsis equestris.
Some alien-looking seedlings of Leuchtenbergia principis. This one was composed from 113 separate images.
And a Nigella.
Update: Now in stereo.
A little something extra
The Phalaenopsis orchids I got back in November have been doing well, so I picked up a few more at an auction yesterday.1 When I took some close-ups of the ones in bloom, I discovered that I had acquired more than just orchids. The plant below is in isolation until the insecticide arrives later this week. (Click to embiggen; right-click and open in a new window to see at maximum size.)
The greatest show on earth, May 18 edition
Kilauea, live.
Update: The above camera is off now, but here’s another.
Update II, May 19:
When the live feed ends, go to the YouTube page and look at the linked videos on the right to find another active webcam. Or check here.
The man in the white suit
Tom Wolfe, whose writing I’ve greatly enjoyed, has died. Here’s his most notorious piece, “Radical Chic: That Party at Lenny’s.”
Purple dragon
The botanical garden recently added a “Chinese” garden. It doesn’t look like much yet, despite the big ceramic dragon on the wall leading to the little pagoda, and the plants that catch your eye are as likely to be American as Asian. I did spot the tree peony above there yesterday, which is definitely Asian, albeit Japanese. It’s Paeonia suffruticosa “Kokuryu-nishiki”, first introduced at a Yokohama nursery in 1905. The name, according to at least two sources, means “Black Dragon Brocade,” though Giggle Translate says “Small clew nishiki.” More pictures from yesterday’s visit are here.
Botanica, May 7, 2018
As always, click to embiggen.
As always, click to embiggen.
Spiny, fuzzy and smooth
Last year’s seedlings are approaching their first anniversary. I’m gradually potting them up individually, which will take a few weeks.
Seedlings
At one month: At one year:
At one month:
At one year:
Surfin’ Suomi
Alfred M. Yankovic and Brave Combo have conclusively demonstrated that virtually any popular song can be improved by polkafying it. It’s also true that rendering a song as a surf instrumental almost always makes it better.2 Charles Hill posts a couple of surf transformations that are superior to the originals and links to a third. My favorite re-arrangement, though, is this one by Laika and the Cosmonauts, yet another eccentric band from Finland. They call it “Sauna Soul” for no obvious reason, but you probably know it by another name.
Great Plains Renaissance Festival, April 22, 2018
Botanica, April 28
The samurai orchid
The Neofinetia falcata (or Vanda falcata) that I got back in November survived my inept care and is now in bloom. It’s a small plant, almost a miniature. The blossoms are about five-eighths of an inch across, and the length, including the spur, about an inch-and-a-half. This, I gather, is on the small side; an inch across and two-and-a-half long is more typical, according to what I’ve read. At night the flowers smell like vanilla with a slight hint of lemon.
I’ve mentioned before that the Japanese obsessed over these little epiphytes.3 Cacti, which would have been unknown in Japan until the later 19th century, turn up in everything from Martian Successor Nadesico to Elf Princess Rane, so there ought to be an occasional Neofinetia here and there in animated shows. But, as far as I know, there isn’t. Perhaps there’s one in the later episodes of Hyouge Mono, which I never finished, but probably not. I can’t think of any shows featuring orchidaceae.
Typical Kansas afternoon
Snapshots from the local renaissance faire on a dreary March day. (The calendar says “April,” but the thermometer doesn’t agree.)
Update: there are more pictures here.
Caution: if there are Scotsmen toting cabers in the area, make sure that they are heading away from you.
Puzzles
A pair from Thursday’s trip to Botanica.
A pair from Thursday’s trip to Botanica.
Botanica, April 19
Click to embiggen and see in better color.
Click to embiggen and see in better color.
Neofinetia falcata
Greenhouse in detail
Greenhouse at Southwestern College, Winfield, Kansas
I spent last Sunday afternoon at Southwestern College in Winfield, where there are a couple of humid greenhouses filled with orchids. Above is a panorama from inside the smaller greenhouse. It’s the largest panorama I’ve made yet, assembled from 37 individual pictures: 29,186 x 14,593 pixels, which works out to more than 400 megapixels. You can read the labels in the pots if you zoom in. It’s best viewed in full-screen mode.
If that doesn’t work for you, try the lower-resolution Flickr version below. (Panoramas in Flickr don’t work well in Safari, unfortunately.)
I also took some conventional photos in the other greenhouse, which you can see here. I wasn’t able to take as many pictures as I had hoped, unfortunately. There was the inevitable society business meeting, which wasted half an hour. That was followed by a slide show, which wasted the remainder of my time there. Why would I want to look at pictures of orchids when I can see the real thing the next building over? Grrr.
