Sound the Trumpets in Jamaica

This is Datura which belongs to the witches weeds such as nightshade and mandrake.

Because it contains tropane alkaloids such as scopolamine,
flowers and seeds are considered a hallucinogen.
I once grew this plant but mine only got 3 feet high before that winter,
and yet, new plants emerged that spring.

  

This is Beaumontia grandiflora or Easter Lily vine originally from Nepal and supposed
to be fragrant although my nose was too far away to verify.  

I did not see any fruit but it can be as large as a squash.  Is it just me or is
the shape of the buds sexy?

This could be allamanda  but I am not sure.  It is supposed to smell like

fruit, but in the rain I could not tell.  It is fairly common in Florida.  (Better views

if you click on the photos.)

Exotic Stuff

This above is named Clock Vine (Thunbergia mysorensis), native of India and found near the city of Mysor from where it gets its name.  I found it blooming along a wall at the Strawberry Hill Hotel in Jamaica.   It is related to my black-eyed Susan vine that I grow each year although the little flowers on my vine look nothing like this.  The largest of these blossoms were at least 4 inches long.   The plant is supposed to attract humming birds although I think they would fall in!  (Click on photo if you want the fall-in experience.) The wall was covered in blossoms.  Varieties of this vine are considered invasive in the temperate climates in Australia as they cover native plants and ruin native ecosystems.  There are many varieties with many different colored flowers.  It gets its common name because it twines itself clockwise around the support as it climbs,  although one web site claims the name is given because its beauty stops time!

This red flower above grows on a very large shrub...maybe a short tree in Jamaica?  Its scientific name is Erythema lysistemon and I think it is a native of South Africa and sometimes called coral tree.

Below is a photo of an arbor covered in what they called jade flowers.  I think this plant is most fascinating because the flower color looks artificial.  It reminds me of the carnations we used to get at prom when they put white blossoms in colored water...and yes I went to a small agricultural town high school.  There is some co-pigmentation alkaline chemical thing going on that gives the color.

Strongylodon macrobotrys. The clue is in the name as the vines get to be 4 inches in diameter and up to 70 feet long.  It is a native of the Philippines and not Jamaica and as you can see, needs a lot of its own space.  It attracts some very specific wasp.

The last photo shows the shape and color of the flower buds before they open.  I think it looks like dragon's teeth and that is what they should name the plant...!  The contrast of purple and jade green is truly lovely.

Plants like these make me want to invest in a very large greenouse!

Jamaica in the Pink

You can breathe now, spring is almost here.  Enough said?

Tree Poetry

My travel across the island of Jamaica put me in touch with some of the most beautiful trees I have ever seen.  Some of these trees have seen more history than I can imagine. Their scars and growth patterns are breathtaking. Their determination to grow in spite of any weather challenge makes me think of the resilience of the people of Jamaica.  Maybe there is something in the soil.

This tree is called the 'dreadlock' tree because of the growth pattern of the roots.

The netting on this tree is magnificent.

I am married to that tree-hugger in the blue shirt (click on the photo for a better view).  

That tree is really amazing and makes me feel very safe.

Bittersweet

Winter is not all gray and white.

I am hoping this is false bittersweet vine (Celastrus scendens)  rather than the Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) which is considered a nasty invasive.  The former is more rare.  I picked this from along the country roadside where they were many.  Both species are easier to identify with more berries along a larger portion of the stem and certainly with the leaves which I could not see this late in the year.  While the Eastern American version is not as prolific in growing, it is just as beautiful and I hope to order one and plant it at the edge of my woods this spring!  Hopefully I will have some of this next winter to look at closer to my house.

I returned just a few days ago and have several interesting bird photos to share.  Already missing the sound of the ocean on the beach and the feel of tropical mist  on my cheek.

Finally!

Finally a decent (through the window) shot of the purple finch.  They are much deeper in color than the red finch and have that sexy eye patch thing.  I have decided that the red house finch is like the girl or boy next door and the purple finch is like the characters out of Twilight!  (YES, I am STILL on travel...but I love my readers so much I spent time creating pre-posts..or perhaps they are post-posts?)

And below is a photo of the same bird on a page from The Birds of America by James Audubon that was given to me for long-term loan by my neighbor!

Death By Any Other Name

Called 'dead leaf retention'

by those who spend their lives

naming things and processes.

But for me,

I see it as the gentle open

palm revealing the past year's

life lines and energy dances

in the summer wind.

I see it as the refusal

to leave that last curtain call

instead to hold hands bravely

in the sun's spotlight

even though the applause has ended

and the fans have long gone home.

Ever Green

I am still on travel...but set this for an optimism post-post as it was something I found on a January hike.  I was able to capture this just minutes before I fell on my backside and slide 10 feet down the hill in the mud and deer doo-doo.  With green like this can spring be far behind?

Down the Path

As noted on my other blog I am on travel in the coming weeks, restoring my mind, soul,  and hopefully my body a little, providing I do not eat too much spicy jerk chicken washed down with too much rum!  This photo was taken in Japan many, many years ago and photo-shopped for this post, and unfortunately, I will not be going there.  I have hired two young boys to keep the bird feeders full while I am gone so be nice to them.

Dancing Grape

I rarely play this game but happened to have the perfect fit for Carmi's curve meme.

Why the Caged Bird Pecks.

Once again my life was called upon for a rescue, partially my fault.  I stood up walking to the kitchen to heat some soup for lunch and heard a gentle thud outside against the window over the deck.  My stomach dropped as I had heard this familiar sound once or twice before during the years I have now lived here.  I looked out and down to the deck floor.  This lovely female downy woodpecker in the video above had hit our dining room window full force and then fell to the deck tucked beneath the railing at the edge.  She was there for about half a minute unmoving with her head bent awkwardly away from her body and down.  When I bent to gently pick her up, she revived suddenly and flew quickly away.  But she flew only a few yards and collapsed on the grass one story below, and then lay sprawled there with wings askew.  My heart was in my throat as I scanned the trees for hawks and as hubby ran down the steps.  He lifted her gently into his hands and brought her back up to the deck and we looked at her closely.  There was no blood and her wings did not appear to be broken and she was able to hold up her head.  Her eyes were half-closed and her beak was open as if panting either in shock or fear.  I brought her to the outside water dish and dropped some water down her beak from my fingers to see if I could revive her a little.  She gulped at the water and stuck out a little red tongue but made no effort to fly again.  

Growing more concerned as she did not resist being held, we put her in the bamboo cage that had been so perfect for use with the frozen and desperate waxwing we saved last year.  She refused to leave my husband's hand as he rested it on the cage floor with his arm barely fitting in the tiny door, and she sat there dozing off and on for about ten minutes in his palm.  Hubby wanted lunch and so we were going to attempt a transfer to my hand.  As we did that she awakened with a start and flew to the opposite side of the cage looking out at the sky and pecking at the bamboo bars.  I took this video quickly as she had miraculously come back to life.  We took the cage outside.  We had to catch her inside the cage to release her and she was a little resistant, but once she was placed on the deck table she looked around for a second or two and then flew high into the far oak trees across the ravine.  We both audibly sighed and smiled.

We immediately ( well after 30 minutes) left to drive up to the nearby landscape place to purchase a half dozen decals for my windows.

Later that afternoon and after the decals were in place, she was back at the suet feeder!  She appeared in very good health.  Her mate also visits the feeder, each day so we hope they will have a nice family this summer.

Who, Who Are You?

This hawk, which I could not identify, was sitting at the edge of the backyard only 30 feet from the bird feeders.  We saw him upon our return to the house a few weekends ago.  He sat there with the snow falling on his shoulders looking out over the river, his back to the wind.  He must have heard our return to the house because he started to turn his head as I took this quick grainy photo from the window.  There were many birds eating calmly at the feeders to his left, so I am guessing this must not be a bird hawk of some kind.  He was pretty big.  I have seen the Cooper's hawk in the area and the birds totally disappear when he arrives.  He sat there for at least five minutes.  Any guesses?

P.S.  Cornell says this looks like a juvenile Red-Tailed hawk.  I did not ask them to ID as I am sure they get tons of photos...but since I am participating in the feeder count, they actually asked for the photo.   Good to know.

The photos above are part of  a "drive-by shooting" of what I think is a red-shouldered hawk.  As I was on my way to run errands, I saw him at the edge of the highway and I stopped suddenly and pulled the car over to catch this fellow (cropped and grainy) in his majestic glory in the trees above me.  He tolerated me for longer than I deserved as I had disturbed his hunt.  I have seen him in this same location several times this winter, so this roadside must be rich in varmints.

Red House Finch

All of these red house finch photos were shot through a window...so they have that soft blurry inaccurate crispness going for them.  It was often too cold for me to go outside and wait for a good shot and I am getting less adventuresome on windy cold days.  The above was taken after our first winter snowfall this year.

This fellow above hid under the table waiting patiently for a Cooper's Hawk to leave the back yard which it eventually did.

And in most bird species the male is the pretty one.  So, here is the soft gray of the female finch at the feeder dish.  My goal is to get some good purple finch photos, but have not been as successful with that as we have only one pair visiting the feeder.

Duplex For Rent

Nestled in a quiet country setting with a spectacular water view, this duplex has just come on the market!  It won't last long with all its perfect features.  It has a warm southern exposure in the winter and gentle breezes in the summer from the river side.  It is only minutes from the bay and is tucked away in some of the most beautiful old forest growth in the area.  Nice neighbors throughout the area.  No long commutes to almost any area.  Available for rent or rent to own on a monthly, biannual or annual basis.  Land owner is most amenable to any arrangement.  Free food and water always available.  No credit check or income verification required.  Perfect for raising a family.  Terms include immediate occupancy.  Call Tabor from any tree if interested.  Small owls will be given first options.

Sharing

 Sometimes they share so nicely...

and sometimes they don't!

A Poem in Double Vision

Looks like this is going to be a another bird post.  With the cold winter I hang around the bird feeder mostly these days.

Among the Sioux Native American nation the blue jay symbolizes double vision or clarity of vision.  It has something to do with the blue of the sky and the juxtaposition of the blue of the jay.  This photo of the tail shows how stunning  those blues can be.  You will hear a blue jay from quite a distance, although, since it mimics many calls including the hawk, you may not know that a blue jay is watching you.  All of my birds leave the feeders pretty rapidly when these jays show up including our red-bellied woodpecker.  They are bullies when food resources are low.  These birds look slim to me and not greedy eaters.

 This must be some confab regarding shopping for gifts as this was taken at the bird bath before the holidays.

All photos reduced in pixel size due to blogger limitations, of course.

I just love this dude's eyebrows.  He has that Gabby Hays, Wilfred Brimley, Sam Elliott thing going for him.  If I spoke jay like some of the Sioux, I am sure he could tell me many cool stories around the feeding dish.

Pajamas

I reduced the pixel size on these and they are not as fun as they are in the original size, but I was so excited to see three of these flickers visit the bird bath in December. They are timid and usually remain in the woods.  As you can see the sky was snowing and it was COLD which is evident from their puffy chests. Their coloring reminds me of a gentlemen in silk pajamas with a nice black velvet ascot and some kind of red velvet sleeping cap...something from the era of Charles Dickens.  Under their wings like a silk lining of a smoking jacket is a striking golden yellow color that only appears when they fly.  They are large birds...as big as the biggest woodpeckers and that intimidating bill keeps the smaller birds away.

Be sure to click on the last photo for a closer look!  There is a tropical fish in the Pacific that is colored  in a similar manner with a belt and polka-dot bottom half like these birds. It is a cardinal fish.  When I lived in the South Pacific I always called them my pajama fish and I cannot think of this bird without thinking of the fish and the fish without the bird...odd person that I am.

Persistent Little Pest

At the start of this post, and hoping not to offend animal lovers everywhere, I want to write that I consider squirrels forest rats with bushy tails.  I do not like their 'soft brown eyes' and their 'perky' little ears, but instead, see them as persistent, annoying, greedy, self-indulgent hair balls that most closely resemble those opportunists that live in dirty city alleys.  They are home wreakers and smart enough to open garbage bins.  (I guess I have made myself clear.)  I actually keep one of those large squirt gun blasters on my drain board just to shoot this flying, leaping bedlam that tries to crawl through the wire protecting the hanging feeder, tries to remove the lid that is secured to the other hanging feeder and persistently tries to come up on the back deck and eat out of the Special Bird Dish I have set up for taking pictures of birds.  (If they are drinking out of the bird bath, which happens ever so rarely, I leave them alone.)  They have plenty to eat that falls to the ground and our acorn fall this year was phenomenal.  That is why I enjoyed with a chuckle watching these acrobatics the other day.

"Doesn't look that far away...wish this branch was stronger!  I know I do not need to lose weight!"

"Ooooo, I can smell those sunflower seeds.  Just a little closer...hang on."

"Ah Ha!  Success!  Now just need to get to those seeds."

!!

Canada's Sweet Sparrow

Cornell says the white-throated sparrow's song is "Oh sweet Canada."   Their playground is mostly in Canada, but we do get them here much of the winter.  Their dramatic coloring makes them stand out among the brown sparrows of the continent.  This one has his full adult uniform on display.  Gotta love that yellow eye shadow!

The continual burning and logging of our forests insures habitat for these little singers.  According to the Smithsonian "Although white-throated sparrows are indeed common, they should by no means be considered ordinary. These sparrows exhibit a characteristic that is rare in birds, they show genetically-based plumage polymorphism. In other words, these sparrows come in two different color forms, or morphs."  

I actually counted about 15 of these beauties on the ground beneath this feeder, but never got a decent photo as they never sit still.  My new challenge is getting some better photos of this common bird.  Of course, in my yard, NO bird is common.

Below is a photo right after our second big snow the day after Christmas where he is quite fluffy!