Tags
ceibo trees, Commercial Rose Production, Frizztexts Story Challenge T, Hacienda Guachala, spotted skunk
Fashionably behind on Frizztext’s story challenges, I scanned my old posts and wondered how to catch up on the letters R, S and T.
One early post reflects a two for one for the letters S & T! I am magically transported back to a Carl-Sagan night when I view images taken from Hank and Marie Groff’s home in Costa Rica. We gawked skyward in awe as the moon changed moods from hour to hour. The Solstice Eclipse pairs the eclipse images with qutoes from Thoreau.
From the field to your local florist; Roses from Ecuador!
R – Ecuador: After touring the rose facility near Hacienda Guachala in Ecuador, I left with greater respect for the roses that are shipped around the globe. Each rose passes through multiple inspection stations, where they are sorted according to size, length of stem and color. Some are culled because the bud will never open; some have minute blemishes. They even face dangers from bacterial blights! After clearing inspection, the roses are carefully packed and sorted and labeled before they are moved to refrigeration. Before the tour, I assumed that roses were grown, cut, sorted, boxed and shipped in an easy field-to-florist process! Now I’ll inspect roses with new-found knowledge and wonder if their origin was Ecuador’s latitude zero!
The Many Stations of Rose Production
S – Costa Rica: When sleeping in the rancho loft in Costa Rica, I heard a sound during the night. Suspecting the local burglars, I tiptoed downstairs and wondered if the thieves who stole the Trooper’s battery were back to steal the tires. Hearing no new sounds, I flipped on the kitchen light. To my horror, the resident spotted skunk greeted me from its perch on the kitchen counter! My Hollywood scream would surely have won an Oscar, and yes, I scared the skunk as much as the skunk scared me!
Shhhh; don’t wake the sleeping skunk!
It was my favorite tree.
T – Ecuador T stands for Trees! I never grow tired of seeing Ecuador’s amazing ceibo trees, Ceiba trichistandra For classic photos of this amazing tree, see my post, The Magnificent Ceibo Trees.
“Van Gogh Ceibo” – Acrylic by Lisa Brunetti
See a stunning ‘tracks’ image featured on Frizztext’s Story Challenge T. Thanks, everyone, for staying with me as I catch up on posts!
Z
Zeebra Designs & Destinations 
van Gogh for sure would applause to your wonderful TREE!!!
LOVE your tree!
thank you so much! i could paint lots of those trees!
z
Your Van Gogh Ceibo is truly magnificent!
thanks, amiga! i’m glad you like it! z
I love the South American photos. We are hoping to get back there in the next couple of years.
i hope that you are able to make it! your life seems full and rewarding wherever you go! z
I try to keep it that way. 🙂
s and t are my favorites
thanks! i love those precious little spotted skunks. it’s a shame they pack such a powerful defense aroma!
Roses. *sniff sniff* Ahhhhhhhh. The aroma.
Skunks. *sniff sniff* Blahhhhhhhhh. The stench!
Your tree. *sniff sniff with a tear* The wonder!
Beautiful @—->—–
you are too funny! thanks, as always, for your great wit!\z
Love all; especially the T!
thanks so much! t for trees, for sure! what would we do without lovely trees?
Absolutely love your Van Gogh tree. You are lucky the skunk stayed asleep through your scream. I’m one of the few who isn’t into roses, but the flower farms in Ecuador are amazing.
I’ve never been a rose person either.. nasturtiums, which grow wild here, are more my style, but wow, the business of roses amazed me!
Thanks, as always, for your comment!
Z
All of your photos would make great paintings… I loved the flower factory a lot. 😉
yes, at breakfast we agreed that we’d like to peek into one of the rose farms, but we had no idea we would have such an amazing tour!
z
Love this tree and the pics you have of the Ceibo trees. They appear as if they’ve been dancing all night long and picked a random spot to stay put for the day, but even as they rest, they look as if they are still dancing, and your painting captures that movement magnificently (I suspect you’ve painted a female tree, as I want to hug its body and feel the vibration) but that’s another story…:). You’re going to send this to me, right? 🙂
One has to be all but blind not to let those magnificent ceibos have a strong effect! Sometimes when I am traveling, I look out my window at a cluster of ceibos and think, ‘They’re snickering and thinking that no one realizes they pull up roots and waltz all night, but I’m on to them! They didn’t return to their same spot, or their toes are tweaked, or their arms are slightly different.. They’re good but some of us can spot their secrets.”
I’m not surprised that you’re on to them too!
I’ll ask the owner of the painting if he’ll consider parting with it! It will be fun to hear his reaction!
Thanks for a great comment!
Z
Well, I hope you quizzed the owner before letting him have it to make sure he understood the trees true nature – if not, wrestle it away to make sure it’s in proper hands…:)
You are too funny! I will be sure to quiz him, though Roberto cherishes his painting! It’s in his office and is there to watch over him and his clients! thanks so much!
A neighbor posted this a few weeks ago:
http://www.jesusjazzbuddhism.org/ceibo-tree.html
z
I’ll check it out. I wish I’d had a picture of your tree for my post called Tree Wisdom..:)