Smarties Bar & Grill #77

Discussion in 'Member Casual Chat' started by Smartmouthwoman, Apr 17, 2024.

  1. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    Mystery orchid. Found this bulb in a landscape bed laying on the surface as though dug up and left behind by landscapers.

    I suspected it could be something interesting so I took it home and planted it. It started shooting up a vine and I immediately thought it was one of these vines that are so common in Florida that are almost as tough as barbed wire and have thorns.

    They have very similar underground bulbs and I ripped it up and threw it in the trash but then I saw flowers forming so I planted it again and gave it some more time and to my amazement, it is an orchid that is blooming with many flowers.

    They look almost identical to butterfly orchids that are Florida natives but they only grow an oak trees and not from Roots underground.

    I know there are roughly 99 orchids native to Florida. Looking forward to seeing what this one does more in the future and getting an identification on it. It sure is growing vigorously. The second larger diameter but shorter sprout, appears to be growing leaves.

    IMG_20241009_085744944.jpg
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2024
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  2. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    If you have AC techs come to your home I recommend that you sit there and watch what they claim that they do.

    Have had two companies out in the last year that were more than happy to charge us a couple of hundred dollars and claim that they did some work. One of them claimed to have reconnected a duct under the house that had come loose.

    The other company claimed that the ducts had been repaired too much and they would be $900 to replace.

    So I'm working outside near the house today and I feel cold air. The entire AC duct was disconnected..... Now maybe the recent storm blew it loose but I could tell by looking at it there was zero recent effort to do anything to reconnect it except maybe get up under there and push on it..... All of the tape that was all it was old and the zip tie that was supposed to be holding it on was also obviously old.

    I got under there and 10 minutes and did a better job than they claim to have did. I feel like calling that company out on the local Facebook page but then of course they would probably try to say I was slandering them.

    Instead I'm going to call him back and ask him what did he do to repair that duct? What did you do that was worth $200?
     
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  3. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    @Curious Always
    Better pictures of the mystery orchid from today.
    If I remember correctly you also live in Florida, do you have any idea what type of orchid this could be?

    I knew when I saw the root laying exposed on the ground that it looked like it could be something interesting
    IMG_20241013_161022053.jpg IMG_20241013_160920389.jpg
     
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2024
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  4. Curious Always

    Curious Always Well-Known Member Past Donor

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  5. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    That looks exactly like it right down to the pseudo bulb. And it makes perfect sense since it was found in a mulch bed and I found it in Bradenton.

    I see they express some concern about its spread. But they didn't really elaborate about why it could be potentially harmful other than the fact that it is an exotic.

    I guess it can get rather prolific.

    I was hoping it was a Florida native but was completely unsurprised to learn that it is evidently an exotic that is potentially invasive

    Welcome to Florida, probably home to more exotic invasive plants and animals than almost any other place in the world?
     
    Last edited: Oct 14, 2024
  6. Curious Always

    Curious Always Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    If we’re not, we are a top candidate. Not only do we have favorable weather for exotic pets to thrive, we have hurricanes that can strew exotic pets all around the Everglades. LOL. It’s a mess. Our iguana population over here is out of control.

    Install the app “Seek” on your phone. It’s an amazing tool. I was able to identify that orchid through the picture on the tablet. I use it out in nature a lot.
     
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  7. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    We have had Cuban tree frogs established in Florida from sometime around the 1920s if I remember correctly.

    Much like the brown and the Cuban anole, they are so well established at this point that they are basically part of the landscape. Many people do not even realize that the brown and Cuban anole are actually invasives because they grew up and they were just part of Florida before they were children whereas with iguanas we have watched their spread within our lifetime. So I do not kill Cuban tree frogs even though I should, they are not nearly as harmful as the next species mentioned....

    Now one thing I'm constantly on the lookout for is the cane toad. They can kill a dog that picks it up in its mouth even briefly..

    Unfortunately they highly resemble the native Southeastern toad and I think a lot of them are killed out of ignorance and mistaken identity

    I know the difference between the two 100%, but I haven't seen any in DeSoto county but I would kill them on site.

    I don't see iguanas in our county but I do see them if I take a 30 mile drive to Charlotte county or go over to Englewood or Boca grande.

    I did manage to kill about a dozen juvenile iguanas one day a year ago with a single shot 22 CO2 pellet pistol.

    Not every exotic is necessarily invasive but every invasive is an exotic.

    A good example is the Bernini blind snake or the flower pot snake.... Most people would not even recognize it as a snake as it looks like a small shiny black worm. The only thing they do is eat termite larvae which can be considered nothing but beneficial.

    So some of them are high on the eradication list while others are not such a primary focus.
     
    Last edited: Oct 14, 2024
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  8. Chrizton

    Chrizton Well-Known Member

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    Looks like it will frost this week. I will have Grim Reaper duty of deciding which of the potted plants come inside and which ones die a cold, miserable death alone in the frozen darkness.
     
  9. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    That must put you at some point north of the Carolinas at least.

    We will have our first cold front of the season here in Florida. Wednesday Thursday I believe the forecast is calling for a low of the mid 60s and a high of the lower 80s.

    First time we have seen that since winter released its dying grasp earlier in the year
     
  10. Curious Always

    Curious Always Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    You have some great phrasing! LOL. Ah the visual of a plant shivering to death while the humans sit in their nice comfy warm houses.


    I’m hoping we can open the windows! It’s been too long.
     
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  11. Chrizton

    Chrizton Well-Known Member

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    Is there some weird sugar shortage that I am unaware of? First place I went to had only powdered sugar and the second place I went to had brown and powdered but only a couple bags of normal sugar left.
     
  12. Curious Always

    Curious Always Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Windows open! Low tonight is 65, but it’s breezy so feels much nicer.


    Delivery trucks going to the same stores may have been delayed? Maybe dockworkers strike delayed things?
     
  13. daisydotell

    daisydotell Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I notice that shelves are getting bare again. Things that were common to find are now not there or in short supply. Makes one wonder if it is gone for good or just awhile. Weird stuff going on.
     
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  14. Chrizton

    Chrizton Well-Known Member

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    During the 5 second dockworker strike i saw some panic buying (mostly of stuff not even imported), but I get what you are saying. It is hard to put a finger on it but there is just this vibe on the store shelves that something is not quite normal. Like it has probably been a month since the bread aisle at my local name-brand grocery was fully stocked. I mean there is bread, just not the normal amounts.
     
  15. politicalcenter

    politicalcenter Well-Known Member

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    Got myself three solid black angelfish. So pretty, look like black velvet with red eyes.
     
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  16. politicalcenter

    politicalcenter Well-Known Member

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  17. politicalcenter

    politicalcenter Well-Known Member

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    They are still kinda shy and they are in a room with little traffic. But they are like underwater sailboats when they feel comfortable.
     
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  18. daisydotell

    daisydotell Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Amazing how invasive plants just take over. The Chinese privet has exploded with berries and they are still green. A big bulldozer would work wonders.
     
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  19. daisydotell

    daisydotell Well-Known Member Past Donor

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  20. politicalcenter

    politicalcenter Well-Known Member

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    Goats love privet. I have been feeding them over the fence with brush trimmings
     
  21. Chrizton

    Chrizton Well-Known Member

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    I spend a good part of my brush clearing time cutting that crap down. It grows everywhere around here and once it gets a foothold, it is hard to get gone for good. I think that it has something to do with it having once been the plant of choices for hedges. My dad said when he was young, a lot of houses had privet hedges but you never see them anymore as people started ripping them out ion the 80's.
     
  22. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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  23. Leo123

    Leo123 Newly Registered

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    Bad Music can hurt....
     

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    Last edited: Oct 29, 2024 at 1:02 AM
  24. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    And my opinion this is one of the best three songs of the 90s and I was probably in 10th grade when this song came out.


    If you have never listened to it, take about 5 minutes out of your life and listen to this song. You won't regret it



     
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  25. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    @balancing act
    Her treatment takes a 4-Hour long infusion where she basically just sits in a chair on an IV drip.

    I take her in there and get her all settled in after her lab work is done and then go find something to do. We are in the city of Northport and I found a park called oaks Park. Not much to it but a parking area and a nice swing and some benches, not even a bathroom but there are trails.

    I was reading that there used to be a lot of ATV use here but now it's officially prohibited even though I have seen one guy on a four-wheeler with his girlfriend. But for the most part people stay out of the park on ATVs and you can damn sure tell because the trails are going to hell.

    At least ATVs keep trails open. But there are other trails all around this area very popular with off-roading. Unfortunately my van is in the shop so I threw a mountain bike in our Yukon.

    It really sucks trying to ride a bicycle on ATV trails because it is mostly sugar Sand so I'm actually doing more walking the bike.

    But we have to return in 2 weeks to do treatment again and this time I will have my van with my KLX 230 dirt bike.

    In the second picture if you look on the opposite Bank where the sun is shining you can see a gator. And also is a picture of where the trails go underneath of i-75

    Bet you didn't know we had rapids in Florida lol :)

    I should have bought some fishing gear. This waterway is called Big Slough. IMG_20241101_101713101.jpg IMG_20241101_101612118.jpg IMG_20241101_100318106.jpg IMG_20241101_095826347.jpg
     
    Last edited: Nov 1, 2024 at 10:29 AM
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