Sunday, February 28, 2016

Lunch with Ruth

Ruth, my daughter's trophy mother-in-law, and I went to lunch at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens last Friday. I stopped to admire Melvin's jade tree. I thought I would have to look carefully to find it, and it's right in the lobby!


Then I joined Ruth in line for tickets to the orchid exhibit.
Look what was in front of me!


The whole front entry was islands of orchids.
Ruth says, when the exhibit ends in a month, she will have that most purple orchid.
(So would Laura if she saw it.)


A display down a hall way. The theme is "Cuba". 
Ruth said the unnaturally colored orchids have been fed colored water. A long discussion of watering orchids ensued among all the visitors.


This island of orchids also included dresses from a Cuba/orchid themed contest. Ruth reaches for the "keeper" from among the dresses.


Now, the fun.
We went into the glass room, to look at tropical plants, birds, butterflies, ants, bugs...an ecosystem in a glass room.
I lifted my camera to take a picture of glass and mist and a tall plant. The view was foggy.


I tried again. I seemed to have on the lens cap.
I looked. The lens was totally fogged.


Why not. I took many pictures through the steamed lens, and blew a lot of light through them after I downloaded.
Three butterflies.


Bromelid.


Orange butterfly.


An astounding blossom.


Back at floor level, I dried the lens and shot normally.
The glass house is small paths through an overwhelming amount of tropical growth.


Three frogs. 


Phew. The desert, and prickly things.


Two tortoise.


A lizard, with an attendant.
The previous lizard was stolen! Ruth said the thieves were taped, but not caught.


Now a docent is by its side at all time.
It sees us!


28 comments:

  1. Hari OM
    That's my kinda place... hehehe, learned long ago that if going to photograph in hot houses and it is generally coat-wearing weather outside, keep the camera tucked close to breast for ten minutes before entering... Looks like a chameleon - can't believe anyone would have the 'hide' to just take one away with them. ... then again... YAM xx

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  2. The lizard is beautiful, but I think I would let hem be.

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  3. Such a gorgeous exhibit. Well worth the trip. The orchids are incredible.

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  4. What a wonderful, wonderful outing.
    Love the blooms. And the butterflies. And the beasts...
    Loathe the humidity, which thanks to you I don't have to experience. Thank you.

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  5. Beautiful. I once read a story about early "hunters" of orchids. Quite fascinating. It took me a long while to appreciate the beauty of an orchid though I surely do now. The Cuba display is very lovely too.

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  6. I enjoyed sharing your trip into the beauty of the exhibits. Can you imagine someone stealing that lizard? I sometimes do not understand people.

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  7. Wonderful visiting with you. Orchids, roses and bonsai - the only plants I can not keep alive. As for the lizard, I watched a pierced, tattooed girl pull a long snake out from between her overflowing bosoms yesterday in a parking lot. I thought I'd seen it all. Same thing must have happened to the lizard.

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  8. Looks like a great place to visit. Can't imagine keeping an orchid alive, I'd kill it for sure. I'd be tempted by the lizard, we're rather fond of lizards here.

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  9. Who in the world would steal a lizard? There is an orchid botanical garden less than 10 miles from us, but nothing's in bloom right now. I really enjoyed seeing yours.... now... is that a dress made of orchids? guess the wearer couldn't sit down, huh?

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  10. Lovely orchids. I am surprised that some of those orchids were fed colored water.

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    1. I read in the morning paper that all the orchids come from a nursery in Oberlin (less than a hundred miles west). They are a major northeastern Ohio supplier. The dyed orchids are their new specialty.

      http://www.cleveland.com/insideout/index.ssf/2016/02/green_circle_growers_in_oberlin_is_big_supplier_of_orchids_here_and_across_the_us_photos.html

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  11. I liked those photos with the foggy lens. I'd like to always have an instant lens-fogger for any pictures of myself. Glad the lizard (maybe of the chameleon persuasion?) has a bodyguard!

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  12. I wonder if the lizard is lonely?

    Great shots, Joanne - thanks for taking us along.

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  13. Why would someone want to steal the lizard? Sad! But such pretty flowers and so interesting with the orchid dress!

    betty

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  14. great shots. I have taken lots of foggy pictures thanks to high humidity. Some times they look spooky and I keep them. ha ha ha ha ha

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  15. To feed flowers coloured water (they do it with cut flowers too) is a strange thing to do - nowadays here they even spray heather in oil paint - very strange.
    But your photos show so interesting things - sometimes I had to search a little bit, and not because of the fog (the third frog - but I found it :-)

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  16. What a wonderful place to visit. We have white orchids from a boat show donated to the shop.

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  17. Love the photos of the ecosystems. The orchids are Singapore orchids? They do come in some truly lovely colours.

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    1. The newspaper article said the roots come from Asia, and all the tedious growing and hardening process happens here.

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  18. Fantastic orchids Joanne - thanks for the pictures.

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  19. I used to have the most beautiful orchids in China and very inexpensive. One of the things I miss.

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  20. What a marvelous jungle. Never have seen such orchids!

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  21. Ahhh... We've got an orchid show coming up in a couple of weeks here. The variety always amazes me. When we were at a butterfly garden in Vancouver they showed me a heater to blow on my lens to warm it up so it wouldn't fog up. I wondered it they provide that at all the butterfly gardens.

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  22. what fun! I love botanical gardens. I do not love the artificial coloring of flowers by putting them in colored water. they are so fake it is jarring. what's wrong with their natural colors?

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  23. Ah, of course: those unnaturally colored orchids are fed colored water!! How did I never think of that before?

    And, as someone who's suffered from Foggy Lens Syndrome on many an occasion, I feel you, sister.

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  24. Ive had 14 orchids in my lifetime
    All died :-(

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  25. Utterly gorgeous photographs Joanne. Like John, I have no success with orchids.
    I keep my Christmas cyclamen and poinsettias until the middle of July and I have great success with amaryllis. But orchids just do not care for me at all.

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