Hobo Jungle

[rogruth]

I don't think the southern winters are "lovely".
They are better than those northern winters.
When the temperatures get down into the 60s I feel cold.

[Mitch]

Southern weather is unpredictable. I was runnin' a two man team comin' out of Louisiana to pick up a load of brick in Birmingham, Ala. goin' to Canada. The old Mack broke down and we were stayin' in the Jo-Von motel, (formerly Ramada) north of town, ended up in the lounge. Co-driver hooks up and leaves with some chick and he has the friggin' key for the room. Later, I headed up to the room, (I was loaded), but he wasn't there with her. I was wearing a T-shirt and it was about 34 degrees. Christ! It had been 85 in the afternoon! I hung out sittin' on the walkway on the 2nd floor in front of our room for at least an hour. Thought I was gonna freeze to death. Had to humble myself and go beg another room key off the night manager. Fastest damn cold front I think I ever saw.

[rogruth]

That's what I like about the south.

Really,I have now been in the south, Georgia since 1975.
That is half of my life. I will always be a Damned Yankee.

If you don't know, the difference between a Damned Yankee
and a Yankee is that Damned Yankees come down and stay.

I don't think the War of Northern Aggression will ever be forgotten
and neither will that flag that was taken down in South Carolina.

[rogruth]

You may need the heat on in the morning and the air conditioning in the afternoon.
I have mowed grass four days before Christmas.
One morning we had 4" of snow, the most I have seen in this area and by 10 AM it
had all melted and it was 50 degrees. We have had 80 in January and 19 in February
during the night. I have not seen a day below freezing or even very close.
I do NOT miss northern winters. My son moved just down the street from me after
living most of his life in the Poughkeepsie, N.Y. area and says he doesn't miss the
New York winters. I understand that there are some persons that just must have
snow. I am not one of them.

[webenda]

Exploding Sunset

Date: 8/28/2015
Time: 7:01 PM (Tucson)
Camera: Kodak PixPro SP360
Focal Length: 1 mm
Exposure: 1/17 sec.
Aperture: f/2.7
ISO: 200

[rogruth]

Beautiful!

[webenda]

The flowers of the Fishhook barrel cactus (Ferocactus wislizeni) range from yellow to yellow/red to red. The red one at my drive entrance was blooming this afternoon.

[rogruth]

I never got to see cacti in bloom on my Arizona visits.

Thanks, Wayne.
How large is that bloom?
I know you fool us sometimes with your flower photos.

[E7]

I understand that there are some persons that just must have snow. I am not one of them.

If I never saw another flake I would be delighted, but it ain't happening here in Southern PA Y'all.

The coldest "Southern" weather I ever encountered was in St. Pete Beach, FL in Jan/Feb '98. One night it got down into the 20's. House I was in had no heat and I was in a sleeping bag with all my clothes on and still froze my arse off.

This past February seemed one of the most bitterly cold I can recall and this Summer had many many 90+ humid days trying to make up for it. That said, I still hate the thought of impending Winter.

PS: Beautiful Pic, Wayne

[rogruth]

I have a daughter who lives in eastern Kentucky and doesn't like that we won't go there for Thanksgiving or Christmas.
It hurts to ride that far, @ 650 miles that used to be a nice days ride that now takes two days, and then it is cold in
Kentucky that time of year and I hurt worse and almost constantly. So does my wife. I lived in Ohio for 30+ years
and know that Ohio is even colder. We had@19 nights below freezing last winter, one of the coldest since we came
to Georgia in 1975. We even had some days in the forties. Really cold for us.

[webenda]

I never got to see cacti in bloom on my Arizona visits.

Thanks, Wayne.
How large is that bloom?
I know you fool us sometimes with your flower photos.

I just went out with a flashlight and ruler to measure it Roger, but found it sound asleep. I tried saying, "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" to no avail. It won't wake up until the sun comes up tomorrow. Based on its sleeping height of two inches, I would guess it is about three inches across when wide awake open.

[rogruth]

Even looks nice asleep.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Great stuff, Wayne. Really have always enjoyed the diversity of cacti and succulents; getting them to bloom here in No. VA is kind of challenging.

[webenda]

Twilight Storm

[rogruth]

What a photo!

Look at the glow on the cacti.

My usual comments.