Five Things 20

Flora There are over 100 native orchids in Florida (107 to be exact if none have gone extinct since I last looked it up). One is a type of vanilla orchid found in several parts of the neotropics, but only in one county in Florida. The Leafy Vanilla orchid (Vanilla phaeantha) likes swamps and climbs trees to get enough light to flower. Only one little bee pollinates this particular orchid, so without the bee, no vanilla beans happen. The specific melipona bee that pollinates most commercial vanilla are perfectly adapted to slip into the tiny access Vanilla planifolia affords. That’s one of the things people didn’t take into account when they were carrying plants around the world, developing large tracts of the tropics, and only being curious about shiny things like gold. Some plants will happily accept any pollinator it can find. Others require such specialization they go extinct without the ideal conditions they’re adapted for.

Nature is typically well-balanced until people get involved.

Flora Again. Dragon fruit is fairly-commonly cultivated in the tropics and the most common is Selenicereus undatus, a species with a white flesh, small black seeds, and a pinkish outer covering that someone resembles floral scales. There’s been one climbing the Gumbo Limbo (Bursera simaruba) tree in my front yard for several years. So far this year, it’s had two rounds of blooms with 4-7 blossoms each time. As of yet, no fruit yet. I did see a video about hand-pollinating, so I might give it a go when the flowers open tonight.

Books Pride month has ended, but I’m still going to mention a couple of TJ Klune books because I finished The House in the Cerulean Sea and Somewhere Beyond the Sea earlier this year and thought they were such delightful, heartwarming stories and then a woman posted a rant about it.

I enjoy reading essays and recently picked up We’re Alone by Edwidge Danticat at what I think of as the local anarchist bookstore. They’re a new and used books and records shop with coffee, yummy sandwiches, and a welcoming vibe. They also regularly have a display of books about fighting the power.

Art This week’s artist is also an artist in residence at the Fort Lauderdale museum on the New River with Stephanie McMillian from a few weeks ago. Florencia Clement de Grandprey was born in Spain and moved to Fort Lauderdale in 2004. She’s self-taught, which is incredible when you see her work. She paints photo-realistic portraits onto things like upholstery fabric, large rugs, and other unexpected textiles.

As mesmerizing as some of her larger works are, I’d love a print of her “Freedom” painting, which is in Italy, because it reminds me of my book cover. Self-centered, I know, but the image also captures an element of wildness.

I also love her “Together” piece with the postscript imagery underneath.

Wild Card I’m a huge fan of the library and I’m always finding out some new thing the library offers that I wasn’t previously aware of. Last month, I discovered the Kanopy app where library card holders can borrow all sorts of movies and shows with their allotment of tickets. You can also access certain Skillshare courses, Masterclasses, and Great Course materials. This week, I used it to listen to Roxane Gay’s class on essay writing.

I also love that I can borrow audiobooks and ebooks and order holds that will just appear at the neighborhood branch. It’s like online shopping without spending money. Since I’m endlessly curious, it’s nice to have an ever-expanding resource.

So, yeah, this week’s task for you, my friends is to go visit your local library and make use of some of all that information and entertainment.