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09-19-2016 – Reflections
It has been 3 years to the day since my father died. I think of him often. There are so many things I would like to share with him. I’m thankful for everything that I learned from him. I try to remember all of the good that he did and the knowledge he passed on. Because of what he taught me I have a great respect for God, Family, Nature, Country, and the Military. I still have some of the plants that he had cultivated. The Night Blooming Cereus plant that I have has grown from a small plant into a big plant and has bloomed many times. This year it has already bloomed 3 times and has 3 more brand new buds now. It seems to really like the hot temperatures of Florida and does well on the porch. The flower is so beautiful and fragrant. A lot of people ask about it so I did some research on it. You can read all about the Night Blooming Cereus below: Botanical name: Epiphyllum (flowers borne on leaf) Oxypetalum (acute petals) is a very interesting plant that blooms a beautiful white fragrant flower at night. It belongs to the Family Cactaceae. It is commonly known as Night blooming Cereus, Queen of the night, Lady of the night as its beautiful Lotus like flower blooms late at night. In India it is called as Brahma Kamal and is treated as a sacred plant. Distribution: This plant flowers in the rainy season from June to mid October. It has diverse distribution and grows wild in tropical rain forests. Epiphyllums are indeed true cacti, but are more often labeled as "Epicacti" or "jungle cacti" to differentiate them from related desert flora. Cultivation and propagation: It is propagated by rhizome, herbaceous stem and leaf cutting or layering. Prefers acidic soil and filtered sun light. It can also be grown indoor. To grow the plant, a Phyllocade is planted in the soil or is placed horizontally on the soil. The cut phylloclade can also be dipped in water. In about three weeks after roots have formed it can be planted in a pot containing soil. Description: Stems are branched and erect, climbing or sprawling, profusely branched, primary stem cylindrical, 1-4 m long, flattened laterally. Secondary stems (which look like leaves) are flat, elliptical, acuminate, about 30 cm x 12 cm in size, with wavy and crenate margins. Flowers are produced from flattened portion having brownish receptacle 13 to 30 cm long. Flowers are 12-17 cm wide bearing green slightly angled short narrow about 10 mm long arching bracteoles, outer tepals linear, acute, 8–10 cm long reddish to amber; inner tepals oblanceolate to oblong, acuminate, to 8–10 cm long and 2,5 cm wide, whitish; stamens many (about 100) white, filament delicate slender and weak; style greenish white or white, 4 mm thick, as long as inner tepals, when flower bloms, later on become longer and comes out of tepals ends ends pale yellow or white multilobed stigma. Round pollen grains are with thick exine. Fruit is oblong, 12 x 8 cm, purplish red, angled. The flower is nocturnal with fragrance dispering in its surroundings. The principal odour component in the aroma is of benzyle salisylate. Blooming of flower: Orchid cactus flower starts blooming after sunset from 7 pm onwards and takes about two hours to full bloom, about 8 inches in diameter and remains open through out night. It closes in the morning before sunrise drooping on long stalks. They have large pure white star-like flowers with lovely fragrance to help their pollinators locate the blossoms by moon or starlight. Features of special interest: This flower, named after Brahma, the God of Creation (as per Hindu mythology), blooms only for one night in the entire year, somewhere between mid June and mid October. The blooming lasts only for a few hours. Brahmakamal is related with the story of how Brahma emerged from Vishnu’s naval in a lotus flower. It is also believed that it is a sacred flower and does not bloom in all homes. In the homes where it does bloom is considered lucky and is a sign or notation of prosperity. There are some interesting stories about the Brahmakamal. It is believed that it is the flower in which Hindu God Brahma resides and the place where it blooms will be the receiver of glad things. People who pray to God while the flower is blooming get their wishes fulfilled. There is a belief that the Brahmakamal should be gifted and should not be sold or bought from the market. Medicinal uses: The phyllocaldes contain some active ingredients and show antibacterial activity. The stem is also used medicinally to cure dropsy and cardiac affections. Vietnamese people use petals of the faded blooms to make soups, which are supposed to have tonic and aphrodisiac medicinal properties.
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09-14-2016 – Fur Babies Blog
David and I have new additions to our family. While he was up in VA living on Chincoteague Island and working for Lockheed Martin a stray cat picked him to be her new human. He found out that she had kittens so he set out to find them. He welcomed her in and made her feel safe. She was so happy that she and her babies had a safe place to live. I was able to see them via Face Time. I encouraged him to bring them all home to Orlando, FL since she was still nursing and they were so tiny. We both had lost our jobs, had no extra money and weren't sure about how Shelby would react. We decided to not worry about it. They are happy and we love them all! All of our fur babies are rescues - Shelby (16 years old), Cleo (About 2 years old?), Kittens (About 5 weeks old?) - Tommy, Tiger, Bella and Dora. Mamma and kittens had their first visit to the Avalon Veterinary Clinic 09-07-2016. They did have worms so we are giving them the deworming medication. All except Tiger took the medication gracefully. He fought as hard as he could and was very vocal about how he didn't want any part of that medication. The Vet was very patient with us and answered all of our questions. Mamma Cleo won't get her vaccinations or be spayed until after the kittens are completely weaned. Avalon Veterinary Clinic http://www.avalonvetclinic.com/ We found out that the normal kitten vaccine schedule is as follows: 8 weeks: • Exam • FVRCP (1 of 3) • Fecal (test for worms) • Deworming if necessary 12 weeks: • Exam • FVRCP (2 of 3) • FeLV (case by case basis 1 of 2) • Recheck Fecal 16 weeks: • Exam • FVRCP (3 of 3) • FeLV (case by case basis 2 of 2) • Rabies 1 yr. 6 months: • Spay • Neuter We have our first consultation setup with Banfield Pet Hospital in our local PetSmart 09-15-2016 (Kittens 5 weeks old). Banfield Pet Hospital https://www.banfield.com/ 09-14-2016 - We were successful at feeding the kittens soft food today. They still haven't figured out the kitty litter yet. 09-19-2016 – Cleo is still nursing but the kittens have teeth and have started eating soft kitten food, they are using the kitty litter box now but are still hesitant to drink water. They are playing and starting to leap and run now. We updated their box to a 3-box condo (kitty litter box, play box and small bedroom box for sleeping). We have also made the master bathroom cat proof for them to play and run in. 09-23-2016 - Kittens are now 6 weeks old. They are responding well to being handled by humans. They are growing stronger, running, leaping, playing, using the cat tree and scratching posts and becoming expert escape artists. Their social skills are good, their eyesight is improving and they are growing evermore curious as their world expands. Their personalities are emerging. Tommy is the strongest and biggest of the litter. His eyesight developed faster than the others. He started playing with the toys and laser light first. Bella is the smallest of the litter and is our sweetheart cuddle bug. Tiger is going to live up to his name. He is full of energy. Dora is also living up to her name Dora the explorer. Cleo is becoming more comfortable exploring the rest of the house and is getting used to Shelby. We tried the first step to the kitty litter quitter and she got confused and pooped on top of the litter box since she couldn't get inside. 05-18-2017 – It has now been 9 months since the cat family came to live with us. A lot has happened since then. 10-06-2016 – Hurricane Matthew Category 4, 120-150 mph winds I packed all of the cats and Shelby and headed up 95 North. The hurricane followed us right up the coast causing major damage along the way (flooding, tornados, power outages, major roads washed out) Hurricane Matthew The Weather Channel https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/hurricane-matthew-bahamas-florida-georgia-carolinas-forecast 11-13-2016 – Toby and Bear came into our lives. Peagles – (Beagle-Pekingese mix) DOB – 09-09-2016 Banfield Pet Hospital https://www.banfield.com/ Puppy Wellness Early Care Plus Plans Comprehensive Physical Exam (2x a yr) Vaccinations
Fecal Exams (3x a yr) Deworming (4x a yr) Spay or Neuter Surgery Unlimited Office Visits Discounts 10% Pet Key Microchip http://petkey.org/microchip-registration/microchipdog-b Home Again Microchip https://www.homeagain.com/ Kitten Wellness Early Care Plus Plans Comprehensive Physical Exam (2x a yr) Vaccinations
Fecal Exams (3x a yr) Deworming (4x a yr) Spay or Neuter Surgery Unlimited Office Visits Discounts 10% Cat Wellness Plan Comprehensive Physical Exam (2x a yr) Vaccinations
Fecal Exams (2x a yr) Deworming (2x a yr) Unlimited Office Visits Discounts 10% 11-25-2016 – We had to put Shelby to sleep. One of the most difficult decisions we have had to make. She was in a lot of pain and was having kidney issues. We miss our sweet Shelby baby girl. She brought so much joy into my life for almost 17 years. Avalon Veterinary Clinic was very patient with us as we said goodbye. They light a candle and let everyone know that someone is saying goodbye to their beloved pet when they perform their euthanasia service. They also took paw prints for us and provided a cremation service so that we could keep her ashes. Avalon Veterinary Clinic http://www.avalonvetclinic.com/ Pet Angel http://www.petangelmemorialcenter.com/ PetSmart http://www.petsmart.com/ |
AuthorJennifer Estevez, M.Ed. Archives
November 2020
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