Bc. Donna Kimura 'ASA' AM/AOS

Bc. Donna Kimura 'ASA' AM/AOS blooming at Kawamoto Orchid Nursery.

Hibiscus: Pohai Ke Aloha

Hibiscus hybrid: "Pohai Ke Aloha" at the Kapiolani Community College Farmers Market.  I've been known to show a little weakness for the occasional hibiscus hybrid although I find that they are not overly fond of San Diego Winters.

Citron Butterflyfish

Chaetodon citrinellus, the Citron Butterfly, is somewhat common throughout the Indo-Pacific but is rare in Hawaii.  I consider myself fortunate to have seen one of these and, of course, it's always an event when I spot a new fish, bird, or critter.  It's even more exciting when I manage to take a clean picture of it as well!  This was at Queen's Surf at about 4 feet depth.

Will the Real Unicorn Please Step Forward?

Large Unicorn Tang, Naso unicornis, spikes extended (perhaps because I was a bit close), at Queen's Surf, Hawaii.

Here's a headshot showing the horn up close and personal.  This fish is also known as the bluespine unicornfish.

Note that Unicornfish are in the family acanthuridae.  They are also known as tangs or surgeonfish, for the sharp, knife-like spines at their tail that can slash you pretty badly if you attempt to grab them by the tail.  In some surgeonfish species, the spines are venemous, although I have not, thankfully, experienced this firsthand.  Most are peaceful herbivores, grazing in large schools along shallow reefs (although a few species also live on small invertebrates).  I jokingly refer to the surgeonfish as the cows of the sea.  In aquariums, they will strip a tank bare of macroalgae in a day or two...so, if you have a macroalgae problem, these are your fish.  Noteably, the macroalgae also provides the tangs with needed micronutrients, preventing the pitting that you sometimes see in tank fish that are not fed an occassional meal of macroalgae.

Wild Roosters at Dole

A wild rooster strutting with his hens at the Dole Pineapple Plantation.

San Diego Pottery Tour

There are some awesome finds at the San Diego Pottery Tour including a broad variety of work, from artistic to functional and from playful to formal, by many of San Diego's best potters and ceramic artists.  Here are just a few of the cool ceramic works that I really liked.  The tour provides an opportunity to see local artists studios as well as some of their finest work at reasonable prices, just in time for the holidays.  You can find out more about the San Diego Pottery Tour at: http://sdpotterytour.com/.

 Ceramic Bowl with Stone Finish by Pierre Bounaud

 Serving tray with leaf pattern by Pierre Bounaud

  Serving tray with geometric pattern by Pierre Bounaud

 Friendly DragonFly by Hasuyo Miller

Pitcher by Hasuyo Miller
 

December 2013 San Diego AOS Awards

 Cycnodes Jumbo Ecstatic 'Sunset Valley Orchids' AM 88 pts.

 

 Dendrobium eriiflorum ‘Wonderful Willie’ CCM 85pts.

 Fdk After Midnight 'SVO Dark Beauty' FCC 91pts.

 

Fdk Enter Night 'Sunset Valley Orchids' AM 88pts.

Repotting Time for the Orchids

What happens when engineers pot orchids?  Think parallel processing.  Potting orchids, doing laundry and cooking at the same time!  Recipe for disaster or a model of efficiency?

I discovered some divisions of some very special (and very large) plants.  Thats the thing about repotting, it's like having a reunion with your old friends.  Imagine trying to untangle several 40+ growth Cattleyas that have grown over each other (including an awarded intermedia orlata and a gorgeous Lc. Aloha Case) tangled up with some Epi. stamfordianum albas.  They were all growing really well up in the sunny corner of the greenhouse. 

Finally, I'm stopping for the evening...I'm out of sun, out of moss and out of bark (and running low on pots).  Looks like a bark run tomorrow.

Korean Double Layer Celadon Vase

Large Celadon Jar with Double Layer (vase inside a vase) Openwork Technique and Crown Design by Mr. Choi In-Gyu, on display at the American Museum of Ceramic Arts.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!  May your day be full of family, friends, good food and fond memories.

*I never realized how beautiful wild turkeys are until I saw them up close, with the sun reflecting off of their iridescent feathers.  They are, in my humble opinion, up there among the most stunning American birds for beauty.  It leads one to wonder what we might have if we had bred domestic turkeys for beauty rather than for food.  It could have been the domestic peacock!  This one lives in the aviary at the San Diego Safari Park so she's well fed and safe from the Thanksgiving festivities.

**No turkeys were harmed in the creation of this photo. ;-P 

Metallic Glaze Teapot by Pierre Bounaud at AMOCA

Metallic Glaze teapot by Pierre Bounaud on display at the American Museum of Ceramic Art in Pomona, California.

Korean Celadon Dragon Vase

Celadon Bottle with Inlaid Dragon Design by Mr. Kim Seong-Tae of Songweol Ceramics, on display at the American Museum of Ceramic Arts.  Most were also available for sale.  I really liked this one but, alas, it was priced at around $47,000 so a picture will have to do.  The clay is carved and inlaid with different colors of slip to create the pattern and then glazed with a clear celadon glaze.

Northern Red Bishop

Northern Red Bishop or Orange Bishop (Euplectes franciscanus).  These are found from Senegal to Northwest Kenya and have also been naturalized into Puerto Rico and the West Indies.  In nature, these small weavers nest in tall grass where they weave spherical nests.

At the Kayak Rental

The kayaks were neatly stacked in rows for the evening.  The low rays of the evening sun made for great reflections.

Cattleya labiata

Cattleya labiata.  From a distance, this looks like a semi-alba but, if you get close, you can see that it has a light lavender blush.  This plant was brought into judging last night.

Cattleya bowringiana variety alba

Cattleya bowringiana variety alba.  This is a rare albanistic variety of the normally sparkling lavender C. bowringiana.  Most of the albas out there that I have seen are actually semi-albas with a teensy bit of bluish-lavender in the throat.  I suspect many if not most arose from selfings of C. bowringiana 'Tower Grove'.

Korean Ceramics Masters

Jar IV by Mr. Ju Eon-Sik, on display at the American Museum of Ceramic Arts (AMOCA).  The texture looks like dry, cracked wood.  I remember seeing some awesome ceramics when I used to fly out to Korea.  I only regret not having bought more of them (but there is only so much space in the house...).

Cattleya guttata variety coerulea

Cattleya guttata variety coerulea.  Cattleya guttata is native to the hot, shrubby sand dunes of Brazil where they sometimes grow to 5 or 6 feet in height, throwing huge spikes of gorgeous waxy blooms.  This is a coerulea form, which is a somewhat uncommon, recessive color mutation, most typically found in Cattleya species and hybrids.

Cycnoches cooperi

A reasonably dark clone Cycnoches cooperi.  These are native to Brazil and Northern Peru and tend to prefer warmer growing conditions.

Happy Halloween!

Pierre and I carved jack-o-lanterns for Halloween.  It seemed pretty festive and, if we carve them tonight, they should still be fresh and sassy for Halloween.  I used a paring knife to carve the holes and an old teaspoon to scrape out the seeds.  Pierre had some really cool micro-saw like tools that he uses for pottery.  I think they both worked out just fine!  Here are the results.

The Pumpkins, pre-carving.

Arnold's pumpkin, the one toothed wonder!

 

 Pierre's pumpkin, with the shy pumpkin grin.

 

 The finished Jack-o-lanterns in all their glory.  A little candlelight made them look positively scary (boo!).



Dendrobium victoria reginae

Dendrobium victoria reginae, hails from the mountains of the Philippines where it grows at about 4000 to 8000 feet.

Masdevallia macrura

Masdevallia macrura.  These hefty Masdevallias are found in Columbia and Ecuador from around 6000 to 8000 ft. elevation where they grow on mossy rocks.

Cattleya guttata

Cattleya guttata.  This clone resulted from the selfing of a coerulea type.  This species is native to low coastal dune habitat in Brazil.  At just under 3 feet tall, this is a first bloom seedling; they can grow upwards of 5 feet tall.  They pass along the glossy sheen and the upright multi-floral habit to their offspring.

Orchids from the Sunroom: Masdevallia princeps

Masdevallia princeps.  These little beauties are native to Peru.

San Diego County Orchid Society Fall Show AOS Awards

Lc Little Irene 'Lise' AM/AOS 80pts

Onc Alosuka 'Claire' AM/AOS 80pts

Phal Malibu Bistro 'Richard Waugh' HCC/AOS 76 pts

Guarianthe bowringiana

Guarianthe bowringiana blooming in the Sunroom.  This easy growing bifoliate forms specimen sized clumps with huge heads of flowers.  These are native to Belize and Guatemala.

Fall Color

A bit of color to brighten up your Fall Season.

Cycnoches herrenhusanum

Cycnoches herrenhusanum blooming in the sunroom.  This species is native to Columbia and Ecuador.

Scott Lost, Cartoon Artist

Scott Lost (a.k.a. Scott Epperson), former Pro wrestler, and now accomplished cartoon artist, displaying one of his first published works, Johnny Wrestling "Man of a Million Holds", at Comic Fest.

Jorge Pacheco at San Diego Comic Fest

Jorge Pacheco, one of the amazingly talented artists and comic book illustrators at the San Diego Comic Fest.  The San Diego Comic Fest was started by the founders of Comic Con, to refocus on comic book art and illustration.  His portfolio included my favorite Looney tune characters, Scooby Doo and many more!

Camp Pendleton Fire

The Camp Pendleton Fire as seen from Mission Valley.  It reached around 1,500 acres.  I'm glad it didn't head South.

San Diego International Orchid Fair Awards

 

AOS Awards granted at today's judging at the San Diego International Orchid Fair at the San Diego Botanic Gardens.



(Blc Lois McNeil X C Valentine) 'Kathleen' HCC/AOS  

Cycnodes Richard Fulford 'Tyrone' HCC/AOS  

Lc Little Marmaid 'Lise' AM/AOS



Stanhopea florida

Stanhopea florida, in bloom in the back yard.

American Orchid Society San Diego Judging Awards for October 1, 2013

Cattleya Landate 'Feuerbach' AM/AOS, 81 points, owned by Renate Schmidt

Porcelain Wall Art

The artist, Pierre Bounaud, with his Porcelain Saggar piece at the Kellogg Gallery at Cal Poly Pomona.

Anna's Hummingbird

Anna's Hummingbird, perched on my apricot tree.  I never tire of watching these guys.  This one is keeping a wary eye on the feeder.