Fragments From Floyd

It is, I suppose, a family tradition--probably genetic, since our kids have it too--to leave just one thing behind anywhere we travel. It can be something small, like a single shoe. Or, it could be something not much bigger but of somewhat more value and importance to the flow of normal life--like a Nikon Coolpix 950. Yep. I did. It's in the mail. So, until it arrives sometime early next week, I'll have to play the vicarious photographer and point you elsewhere.

First, especially for those of you from off-continent, you might enjoy a visual tour of Virginia, or closer to home, of the Roanoke area. These pages are massively full of images and take a bit to load.

And for a visual feast on a sleepy Saturday, what better than a click-fest on the pretty faces of orchids--perhaps the most "intelligent" and certainly most oddly beautiful of all flowering plants. And it is most certainly not just in appearance that orchids are worthy of our awe and admiration. This article from "The Orchid Hunter" is full of amazing facts and features of orchids. Of course, smell is always pretty high on my list:

Some orchids have straight-ahead good looks but have deceptive and seductive odors. There are orchids that smell like rotting meat, which insects happen to like. Another orchid smells like chocolate. Another smells like an angel food cake. Several mimic the scent of other flowers that are more popular with insects than they are. Some release perfume only at night to attract nocturnal moths.

And lastly (at least for this cup of coffee)--if you have any interest in photography, identifying or consuming mushrooms, this seems like a pretty good place to start. Notice the beginners key in the right sidebar. Gotta start somewhere. Especially worthy of note is the page on what is perhaps the safest and most sought-after spring mushroom, coming soon to a meadow near you: The Morel. Start perhaps with a page full of pictures of Morels (some of these are NOT morels and I wonder why they chose to add them here>). Then work back to the main Morel page for tips about identifying them. If you find some, there are recipes and preparation sites all over the net. It is worth the effort, folks, and the time is approaching for them to come out.

WHEN? "When the oak leaves are the size of mouse ears and the blue violets bloom" say the old-timers.

WHERE? Everybody has their theory. Old apple orchards. Burned over areas. Where Mayapples bloom. The biggest one I ever found was growing next to the gutter downspout behind our home back when the kids were small. TIP: when morel hunting, DO NOT allow them to see your collecting receptacle (bag, bucket or basket) as they will instantly become invisible. In my experience, the best morels and the most are found by accident, carried home in a make-shift sling made from the front of one's T-shirt.