Saturday, October 15, 2016

Preparing for the Storm

" 2 Chronicles 7:14   "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
We seek God with all our heart and pray he calms the storms in our world and nation."
The forecast of severe storm warnings with 60-100 mph gusts, remnants of a typhoon off Japan, caused us to scurry and put away all that would be damaged from the wind.

Crab apple in the orchard
We picked a bushel to lighten branches and
make future crab apple jelly.

We moved the echeveria from the sundeck to the sun room,
 along with benches, chairs, pots and plants.


The sun porch before the storm


   More brought into the sun room
We prepared and prayed that the storm would be calmed.

There is a new and bigger storm brewing in this nation. Our country seems to forget we are one nation under God." Let us humble ourselves, confess our sins, pray, seek God's face.

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Queen of the Night Bloom



 Night Blooming Cereus Epiphyllum oxypetalum “Queen of the Night”
“Night Blooming Series – Bermuda



Epiphyllum oxypetalum (Dutchman's pipe cactus or queen of the night) is a species of cactus and one of the most cultivated species in the genus. E. oxypetalum blooms rarely and only at night and the flower wilts before dawn. Though it is sometimes referred to as a nightblooming cereus, it is not closely related to any of the species in the tribe Cereeae, such as Selenicereus, that are more commonly known as nightblooming cereus. All Cereus bloom at night and are terrestrial plants; all Epiphyllum are epiphytic.  From wikipedia
Familiarity with a night blooming plant began as a child, while searching through old postcards in a box in the attic. We lived in our great grandmother’s home, although I never knew her and she died before I was born. Her belongings were in the attic and among the postcards of the West Indies and Bermuda where she traveled and lived, were pictures of night blooming flowers. I was fascinated.
Long forgotten fascination grew with the discovery and purchase of the above postcard. Bermuda was a stopping off place for great grandmother’s travel to the West Indies.  

When visiting a friend recently, she told me a story of her plant, given to her by a woman at her table where she ate each night. Some man brought back a start from the tropics and passed it on when it became too big,  The woman at my friend’s table had it in a one inch thick tin pie plate with hardly any soil and wanted to get rid of it.  My friend took it, planted it with good soil in a beautiful pot and it  grew and prospered so much, like Jack in the Beanstalk, it reached the ceiling. So when I visited, she asked me if I would take it.   “It is the strangest plant! You get a straight stick and watch it grow until it reaches the ceiling”
So we took it and put it in our greenhouse, another friend helped pot it, tie it up, and care for it and it thrived!
and several months later:

 First was a single bud August 19, then a bloom and more buds September 13




Then on September 14, 2016






Epiphyllum oxypetalum blossoms in greenhouse. Night bloom with light on
 photos by Neil W Bryant
What an amazing blessing!


Sunday, February 14, 2016

St Valentine's Day

Happy St. Valentine's Day  Click on the underlined and you will see a post from six years ago.

Today, in organizing photos, I found this photo:

1997 Hooked pillow for our son and wife


A great reminder for us all:
Love is Kind, Selfless, True, Patient, Loyal, Hopeful, Humble, Trusting, Supportive, Forever.
 I Corinthians 13