Relocation

I've relocated to Lisle, IL after accepting a new position and have moved into an apartment, so the focus of this blog will be changing.  My family is staying in AZ, so Dove Manor remains in our hands and I will be visiting every other month or so, at which time I'll post updates on how things are faring in my absence.  In the meantime, I have brought most of my stapeliads and a few other succulents with me.  Future posts will highlight the surrounding area, as well as new additions to my stapeliad collection.  Prior to leaving Arizona, I took some photos of the gardens so that I'd have a baseline for comparison when I take my first trip back.

After hand-pollinating Euphorbia obesa flowers daily for over a week, I realized that I'd been successful when I noticed a number of the flowers were swelling with developing seed pods.  Since the pods burst open when ripe, I covered them with a nylon to capture the seeds.

Euphorbia obesa seed pods

Several of the succulents were flowering, as seen below.

Pleiospilos nelii 'split rock'

Gasteria liliputana

cotyledon 'White Sprite'

Other plants flowering or about to flower include the Anna apple, snapdragons, roses, and Black oil-seed sunflowers.

Anna apple already showing the swelling of pollinated fruit.

Snapdragons from last year's seeds.

Black Oil-seed Sunflower

There were several critters in the gardens recently, including an American Kestrel, a micro fly and a spider that had finished its' meal.

Falco sparverius, American Kestrel, 

Micro fly

Several plants were beginning to spring forth with new growth, including radishes, blueberries and the gladiolas.

Radishes in the ladder planter.

The first leaves on the new blueberry plants.

The glads pushing up are a sure sign of Spring.

Lastly, two of the Stapelias have bloomed since I arrived in IL on the 8th.

Stapelia rufa

Stapelia kwebensis

Until next time, here's hoping Spring finds its' way to Lisle, IL soon.

Larry's New Legs

When I built Larry, his legs were just PVC pipe and as a result, he was forced to wear long pants regardless of how hot it was, but no more.  A couple of days ago, Larry got a gift of legs from my daughter, Heather. They were white as the new drive snow, so Larry had to go to the tanning salon for a spray-on tan, then the legs had to be modified to accept his torso.  After a couple of days yo figure out a solution and put it into effect, Larry is proudly showing off his legs in a pair of cargo shorts as he prepares for Spring Training 2014.

Lots of New Stuff

There's lots of new stuff here at Mr. B's, both inside and out; new plants, new collectibles and new growth. Let's start with the collectibles, which are an early 1900's blue and white stoneware mug, unmarked but probably from the Midwest; a 1940's cockatoo wall pocket, also unmarked; and a 1950's pot by Maddux, a California pottery that was located in Los Angeles.

My 1st blue and white stoneware piece.

A beautiful wall pocket

An oh so 50's pot.

Of course, new plants made their way into the house or garden, including red onions, sunflowers, African violets, Stapeliads and other succulents.  I bought a package of 80 red onion starts from Wal-Mart for under $2 and planted some in blueberry bed and some in the peach planter and within a few days, the first green tops were poking up. I placed an order for 10 new Stapeliads from Mesa Garden in Belen, NM, but unfortunately for me and good for them, they've had so many orders that they were only able to provide six of the plants in my order.

Red onions already pushing up after just a few days.

African violet I bought recently

Another AV, this one looks great in the Maddux pot.

Duvalia modesta, South Africa & Madagascar

Duvalia radiata, South Africa & Madagascar

Piaranthus comptus, South Africa & Madagascar

Piaranthus decipiens, South Africa & Madagascar

Huernia plowsii x zebrina

Euphorbia anoplia, Tanzanian Zipper Plant

Another bird cage turned into a planter

Ledebouria socialis 'Violacea'

Ledebouria socialis inflorescence

Sunflowers breaking through their new bed.

And the existing plants are responding to the spring-like weather we've been enjoying by blooming, sprouting and generally acting like it's March.  

Cremnosedum 'Little Gem' blooming in the gnome garden.

Hollyhocks getting ready to bloom.

Potatoes with lots of top growth.

Senecio radicans glauca flowers

I revamped the succulent bed in the old water fountain by drilling drainage holes in it, then planted it with cuttings and pups from existing plants in the gardens.

A store that was closing in the mall near my house placed a listing on Craigslist offering free store fixtures and I managed to get a couple of acrylic display stands, which I'm using on the porch to display some of my succulents.

Gilbert Riparian Preserve, Part II

I completed my tour of the Gilbert Riparian Preserve this morning, getting started at around 8:30 and finishing two hours later.  I saw plenty of birds, but not too many new species to add to my life list.  When I arrived the last of the swifts were leaving, so next time I'll need to arrive even earlier if I want to get some pictures and make some identifications.  I spent about 10-15 minutes in the first spot I arrived at, watching flocks of waterfowl swooping in from overhead and landing on the pond.  The I made my way on my journey, stopping to admire a number of wildflowers, some of which were conveniently identified on large signs placed throughout the area that was designated as the "Butterfly Garden".  I leisurely made my way down the path stopping to admire a bird here and there, as well as some of the mammals that make their home in the preserve.  I was talking to some birders when one of them noticed a coyote at the far end of the pond and we spent a few minutes admiring it.  I took my leave and headed around the pond, towards where we had seen the coyote and when I got in the general area, I sat down on a bench to take a look through my binoculars at all the waterfowl in the muddy edge of the pond, which was mostly devoid of water.  All of a sudden, all the waterfowl in the far end of the pond starting taking to the sky and right behind them was the coyote, hell-bent on catching one.  All it managed to do was rile up the birds and tire itself out and I'm guessing it will have to settle for a cottontail or a pocket mouse or two today.  Following the same format as yesterday, here are today's photos.

Calliandra eriophylla, Fairyduster

Encelia farinosa, Brittlebush

Encelia farinosa, Brittlebush, close-up

Glandulara gooddingii, Goodding's Verbena

Justicia californica, Chuparosa

Auriparus flaviceps, Verdin

Calypte anna, Anna's Hummingbird, Male

Sturnus vulgaris, European Starling

Sayornis nigricans, Black Phoebe

Charadrius vociferus, Killdeer

Recurvirostra americana, American Avocet, immature individual

Recurvirostra americana, American Avocet, adult

Anas clypeata, Northern Shoveler, Male

Aythya collaris, Ring-necked Duck, Male

Aythya collaris, Ring-necked Duck, Female

Chaetodipus penicillatus, Desert Pocket Mouse

Canis latrans, Coyote

Lastly, here's a picture of some of the nesting structures that have been constructed for use by platform nesters and one something we see quite often around here during the cooler months.