Firsts

I was taking a stroll around a botanical garden here in Sarasota the other day and came upon some really beautiful mushrooms unlike anything I'd ever seen before either in person or in photographs.  I took some photos of them and then came home and contacted as many mycologists I could think of, to see if I could get an ID on these specimens. 

My friend Taylor Lockwood saw my photos and said he thought they looked a lot like a mushroom he'd photographed in Australia, called Agaricus rotalis.  I then contacted the US expert on Agaricus mushrooms, Richard Kerrigan who agreed, they were Agaricus rotalis which had only been recorded in Australia and Hawaii and the Caribbean.  He said he and his colleagues preferred using the name Agaricus endoxanthus which is an older name and more correct.  He also said this is the first collection from nature of this species in North America, and I found it!!

They Grow up so Fast!

The little fluff balls are cute as can be.  Right now I will have to keep mama and the babies separated from the other girls to be certain they will be safe until they get a little bigger.  Already Ginger is chatting away at them with commands that only they seem to understand.  She has a different voice she uses with them and every time there is new food or something new to them, she uses her "other" clucking voice to warn them about whatever it is.  It's fun to hear her communicating with the chicks. After about 12 days their little wings are starting to grow. I introduce more foods into their diet, like fresh fruit.

We're Having Babies!

My Buff Orpington hen, Ginger, is the broodiest hen I've ever had.  She is only a year and 3 months old and already she has been broody about 4 times!  So, I decided instead of trying to fight her on it, I'd let her set on a few fertile eggs I'd buy from a local breeder.  I got the eggs, put them under her and she diligently kept her post for 21 days until I noticed the beginning of pipping on one of the eggs I could see.  A small hole was starting to form on one egg so I peeked under her feathers at the other egg, and sure enough that one was pipping also.

Baby chicks are born with what is referred to as an "egg tooth" which is used to crack the eggshell so they can work their way out of the egg.  The action of poking these holes is called pipping.  The chick will crack the eggshell all the way around the blunt end of the egg until it is loosened and then it will push the shell open with its feet and out it comes.  Welcome to the world little babies!

Bananarama

I've almost never been so excited in my life! I have waited two years for my first banana plant to fruit and finally, just as I was about to leave town on a trip, my Musa Namwah decided to put out it's first inflorescense. I was somewhat horrified that I might be out of town when the bloom opened, but to my great relief, it mostly waited for my return.  Here is the sequence as it took place:

It will take about six months before these bananas will be ripe to pick and eat but at least now I won't have to worry about it blooming in the winter.

The New Blue Babies

I have two new girls to add to the family.  They are purebred Ameraucana chickens and are the sweetest, gentlest chickens I've ever owned.  They will lay pure blue eggs (once they start laying eggs).  This breed comes in different color variations but my favorite is what is referred to as "blue" which is what these babies are.  Belle is on the left and Abigail on the right.  As they get old enough to lay eggs, I will be replacing the others who are a bit too much for me to handle, with more Ameraucana's.  I think there is a huge difference between pure bred, locally raised and the baby chicks you buy through a mail order house or get at the local feed supply store (which came from a mail order house). There is no comparison to the difference in their personalites and gentle and calm demeanor compared to the others who are just hyper and amazingly destructive.

I know there is a pecking order but the bigger hens are just plain mean and obnoxious to these blue babies so their days are numbered here.  They are not quite a year old themselves, so I will have no problem finding them a home since the city ordinance in Sarasota has been passed to allow backyard chickens.

Follow up:  Belle laid her first egg and it's a beauty!

It's Sand Sculpting Season Again!

This year the Siesta Key Crystal Classic is hosting the World Championship Doubles Division of sand sculpting for 2011.  There is no specific theme so you can make whatever you want.  Here are some of the entries and the winner.

And The Winner Is

Art in the Streets

The Chalk Festival has decended upon Sarasota once again and the streets are filling up with chalk paintings of enormous proportions, some taking up nearly a city block!  This year a new aspect of the chalk festival was added called Going Vertical.  It includes numerous works of art on walls around town and not just on the streets. The artists come to Sarasota from all over the world to compete and show off their talents as street artists.  Here are some of my favorites:

The photo above is all painted onto the side of a building and what you see is all painted!