Daily... and since 2013... Weekly (hopefully) photos of Miami, Florida, USA. However, be amply warned!!! Sometimes, I tell the truth, other times, I may not. Sometimes, I am joking, other times, I may be serious. It may be hard for you to tell... So if I offend you, I am joking or not telling you the truth. But my photos are all real because I do not doctor them.
I went to Scotty's Landing today despite the reservations about this restaurant that I had before. The food is true to be only so so, and the fries? I've seen better, much better. But you can't beat the view though. It's great on a day like this, but it's colllddd... We tried to sit at the only row with some sun which didn't help because there we got the brunt of the freezing see breeze that constantly blew through. The prices matched the food quality, so you can't complain too much. This is a very popular place in Coconut Grove.
The students of this college campus are coerced to vote for their Student Government's President and Vice President. Vote and you will be given a free lunch: hamburger or hot dog, chip and a drink. Laptops are set up to collect ballots at one end and students are given tickets to proceed to the cook out table. True democracy at work. The Student Government is supposed to advocate for the rights of students for issues such as tuition cost, free speech and other constitutional issues. This event was very popular today.
This longan tree has begun its transformation from this to flowers to tiny and healthy starter fruits that will mature during June-July this year. Come back here to see this tree with its full load of fruits. It will be spectacular.
A view of downtown Miami from the University of Miami Jackson Hospital complex. In view are North-South I-95, exchanging with Dolphin Expressway (836) that becomes 395 Eastward to Miami Beach via the McArthur Causeway. This is quite a busy highway interchange and many commuters must face it everyday to get to and from work.
Water Polo is a very physically demanding water sport. Each team has 6 field players and one goalkeeper. They play in a swimming pool between 20 x 10 or 30 x 20 meters in size and at least 1.8 meter deep. Today's tournament is in about 2 and a half meter deep end of an olympic size swimming pool which is 25 meter in length. There are four quarters of 7 minutes each because this is a US High School Varsity tournament. This team (in white swimming caps) is awaiting their turn to enter the water for the next game on the schedule. In real time, each quarter lasts about 12 minutes and at the end of the game, each player (save the goalkeeper) would have swam about 3 kilometers or more. Because they cannot stand, the players have to constantly swim or tread water during the active parts of the game. I can probably last 30 seconds.
It's depressing to sit behind this kind of money! So let's rant a little bit! This car in front of me here is no other than my dream car, the Maserati, but not quite this one though, which is the Maserati QuattroPorte. You get 400HP after shelling out a minimum of US $115K. If you have the need to have a massage while driving this car, it'll be US $125K for the Executive GT variance. This car only comes in automatic drive! Phooey!
Judging from the license plate, the owner is probably part of (or owns) the Miami Dolphins football team, which explains that in the US, sport pays and pays big! I'd rather drive my dream car, the Maserati GranTurismo which is much more sporty and bellissimo. Yeah right, in my next life, if I come back as a famous football player like OJ Simpson. If you don't know what I am talking about, Just Google "oj simpson."
Yellow is my favorite color. I even had a yellow car. My Dancing Lady orchid (Oncidium sphacelatum) is in bloom right now, and their beautiful little skirts are yellow. You may be interested to know that the way these ladies dance in the breeze, they appear just like a swarm of bees. Of course, no gentlemen bees would miss the occasion and they won't miss diving in to attempt to mate. April's fool! That's one way the Oncidium species gets pollinated.
This is a brand new apartment homes (that's what they are called) complex that is getting ready for occupancy. The construction went on for quite some time and I thought it would never end. This location is on Red Road, just north of South Dixie highway. This is quite a large complex as there are several other similar 4 story buildings on the left that are not in this photo. With this bad economy going South, hope for leasing these is not very high.
Like clockwork, Miami is golden at this time every year. All the Golden Trees (Tabebuia Chrysantha) are in astounding bloom, just like last year, and the year before last...
The large containers you see at curb side are the recycle bins. The city of Miami collects recycle material twice a month and today is the Monday scheduled for pick up.
Two months ago, this field looked terrible. Now, after only a few short rainfalls, it looks much better. We are still technically in a drought in Miami, but it doesn't take much for the grass to grow, and grow well. Don't you wish $ grows as easy as this? In the US, it's green too! Imagine, put a few in the ground and wait for the rain.
Miami-Dade Parks & Recreation operates six marinas in the Miami area and many boat ramps where private boats can be launched. Of course, there is a fee to launch a boat. To enjoy the boat, one has to know a lot and also pay a lot. You need to know the boat, where is the bow, where is the stern etc..., how to tow it (safely,) where to launch it, how to launch it, how to drive it in the ocean, how to fish (or dive or whatever you do with a boat,) how to un-launch and how to tow it back home. That's too much work, don't you think?
That explains the proverbial joke about boat owners: "The second happiest day of my life was when I bought a boat. The happiest day was when I sold it."
BBQ food contributes to your cancer risk. So does anything charred, like seared steak or hamburgers from the grill or even burnt toast. The carcinogen (cancer-causing agent) is mainly benzoapyrene, though other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are present and can cause cancer, too. PAHs are in smoke from incomplete combustion, so if you can taste smoke on your food, expect it to contain those chemicals. Most of the PAHs are associated with smoke or char, so you can scrape them off of your food and reduce your risk from them (though that kind of defeats the point of a juicy burger.) HCAs, on the other hand, are produced by a chemical reaction between meat and high or prolonged heat. You'll find these chemicals in fried meat as well as barbeque. You can't cut or scrape away this class of carcinogens, but you can limit the amount that is produced by cooking your meat just until it's done, not blackening it into oblivion.
OK, enough lecture in chemistry, let's devour these yummies, smoke, char and all. Don't worry! Be Happy! Calories, cholesterol... here I come! Where's my A1 sauce? By the way, the smoke smells and tastes terrific!
Barbecue or Barbeque (with abbreviations BBQ, Bar-B-Q and Bar-B-Que, abbreviated form Barbie, used chiefly in Australia, and called Braai in South Africa) is a method and apparatus for cooking food, often meat, with the heat and hot gases of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of charcoal These modern barbies are mostly gas grills costing upward in the thousand of US $. Not for me! I strictly use good old fashioned charcoal bricks BBQ for two. If there is a good location to "slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for you," it's here in Miami. May be I'll show you how I do it tomorrow.
Spotted outside the Home Depot on Kendall Drive today are these young men who stand outside waiting to hopefully be picked for any job they can find. Home Depot is the supplier of choice for home construction and building material. Contractors come here for supply and many of them look for cheap labor to man their job sites.
Apparently school is over for today so this student is ready to hit the road. He even took the time to pose for this photo. I should have asked him if it was his bike that I saw exeactly one year ago at Tropical park. There can't be too many of this type of Honda "Superbike" CBR around Miami.
Do you know that only female ducks quack? Worldwide, ducks have many predators. Ducklings are particularly vulnerable, since their inability to fly makes them easy prey not only for avian hunters but also large fish like pike, crocodilians, and other aquatic hunters, including fish-eating birds such as herons. Ducks' nests are raided by land-based predators, such as foxes, or large birds, like hawks or eagles.
Miami has many ducks living among people... I am not sure what eventually happens to all these ducks. It's a good thing dogs and cats are never let loose outside. If you think you are vulnerable, take a look at these 7 ducklings. All they have is their Mom here... and for how long?
The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is an annual plant in the family Asteraceae and native to the Americas, with a large flowering head (inflorescence). The stem can grow as high as 3 meters (9 3/4 ft,) and the flower head can reach 30 cm (11.8 in) in diameter with the "large" seeds. The term "sunflower" is also used to refer to all plants of the genus Helianthus, many of which are perennial plants.
What is usually called the flower is actually a head (formally composite flower) of numerous florets (small flowers) crowded together. The outer florets are the sterile ray florets and can be yellow, maroon, orange, or other colors. The florets inside the circular head are called disc florets, which mature into what are traditionally called "sunflower seeds," but are actually the fruit (an achene) of the plant. The inedible husk is the wall of the fruit and the true seed lies within the kernel.
The florets within the sunflower's cluster are arranged in a spiraling pattern. Typically each floret is oriented toward the next by approximately the golden angle, 137.5°, producing a pattern of interconnecting spirals where the number of left spirals and the number of right spirals are successive Fibonacci numbers. Typically, there are 34 spirals in one direction and 55 in the other; on a very large sunflower there could be 89 in one direction and 144 in the other. As you can see, the bees have destroyed the mathematical pattern of this flower and the insert is to show how it looks when undisturbed.
Sunflowers in the bud stage exhibit heliotropism. At sunrise, the faces of most sunflowers are turned towards the east. Over the course of the day, they follow the sun from east to west, while at night they return to an eastward orientation. This motion is performed by motor cells in the pulvinus, a flexible segment of the stem just below the bud. As the bud stage ends, the stem stiffens and the blooming stage is reached. Right now, this sunflower in bloom is not heliotropic anymore. The stem has "frozen", typically in an eastward orientation. The stem and leaves lose their green color.
This sight, that of a swarming fire ant hill is quite rare in Miami these days. "Fire red" ants were everywhere in Miami and they made life miserable for homeowners and gardeners and caused billions of dollars in damage every year. If you have been stung by these guys, you'll understand why we call them "fire" ants! In the early 2000s, the United States Department of Agriculture discovered that the phorid flies of Brazil and Argentina can help keep the ants under control. A biological warfare was launched pitting the phorid flies against the red ants. The theory is worthy of a horror science-fiction movie script: "The flies hover over ant mounds before darting down and injecting a torpedo-like egg into the ants. After the egg hatches, the maggot decapitates the ant by eating the brain and other contents of the head. The maggot later turns into a fly and the cycle is repeated."
This seemed to work because I have no more red ants around my yard...but I found this hill today (not in my yard, thankfully!) All you have to do is step on the hill once. Instantly, red ants swarm from nowhere like lightning, as if these individuals just sit in their nest all day to wait for some one to step on them. Then they'll be busy sending out sentinels to do battle with the intruder and running around the hill top doing I don't quite know what. It takes these fellows a while to calm down and retreat to wait for the next battle. It's a fun way to spend about 20 minutes.
This is no China wall or Berlin wall either, but it's the 878 wall nonetheless! The work is almost finished along this stretch of highway. It looks pretty straight to me. How do they do that? With a plumb line?
There is quite a bit of highway construction/renovation in Miami during this time. This does create a bit of inconvenience in traffic not to mention all the dust. But the end result is good because we can enjoy very good and safe roads to travel on. Remember that one cannot live in Miami without a car (or two.)
Today is St. Patrick's Day. It is an annual feast day which celebrates Saint Patrick (circa AD 385–461,) one of the patron saints of Ireland, and is generally celebrated on March 17. The day is the national holiday of Ireland. It is a bank holiday in Northern Ireland and a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland and Montserrat. That doesn't prevent Canada, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and especially the United States to chip in for the beer drinking celebration. It is widely celebrated although not an official holiday. You want proof? Look at the photo showing the crowd lining up for beer tonight. It's green day!
I often pass in front of this business, making a left turn to catch SR 878. Never see any traffic through its door and the parking in front is always empty. This is the first time I see some kind of visitors. I guess competition with the open internet is tough.
Inside a poor man's car wash. This touchless car wash costs only $6 (provided you fill up your tank first.) This beats the other "deLuxe" car wash that costs four times more or hard manual labor with a hose, bucket, soap and sponge.
Yearly, the Special Olympics organization hosts sporting events when Special Olympiates compete in different sports such as soccer, bicycling, swimming, softball etc... There is always a large crowd of volunteers to help out. The volunteers are registering, getting instructions and assignments to work at this event this morning. It's very rewarding time to spend reaching out a helping hand.
College students hanging around between classes. These are having a music jamming session with a guy playing the guitar. As I took this photo, the guy in the white shirt moved in front of the guitar player! These people are happy because it's "Thank God It's Friday (TGIF.)"
Here is a "Come on in" type of enticement: It's only $7,995. But the fine print is "Ask for Details." Don't believe you can get these cars for US $7,995, even in this economy.
Woodrose Vine (Pilikai) is a tropical native with tuberous roots. The wood-textured flowering vine with soft woolly leaves is so named for its light brown fruiting capsules which resembles a wooden rose. The dried woody pod is popular in floral arrangements and will last for years. Vines can reach 10' or more in one season. This very aggressive vine is climbing all over the place here on top of the Ylang-Ylang (Cananga odorata) tree.
One of the many construction jobs on Miami's highway system. The money may have come from the stimulus bill that is trying to revive the dying US economy, creating jobs repairing or improving the country's infrastructure.
This should have been done a couple months ago, but no one had the time... This is a Wrightia religiosa that is supposed to begin flowering right now.. but not doing so well... So a late "root surgery" is in order. Don't worry, it'll live but it will miss flowering this time.
This intersection is of NW 12th Avenue and 14th Street, the Southwest corner of the huge University of Miami-Jackson Memorial Medical Center. The Cedars medical center is seen with one of its two large parking garages. Further down the avenue is the VA medical center. To the right (East) is the other buildings making up the entire medical complex. It's huge and it lives and breathes as a city within the city of Miami. The big directional sign you see is quite confusing to the drivers, to say the least, wouldn't you say? Do you go straight, or do you turn?
Miami public transport systems have the Metro Rail and bus. They do interconnect so commuters can get around. However, it's almost impossible to live here without a car.
State Road 836, locally known as the Dolphin Expressway (to commemorate two consecutive national championships of the Miami Dolphins football team,) is a 16-mile-long six-lane divided tollway. Curiously, toll is collected only in the East bound direction. This is West bound, at the end of a workday. The traffic jam is always bad at the Miami International airport to the right where you see the control tower. Of course, all takeoffs and landings are in the West-East runways at this time so pilots do not have the sun in their eyes. That makes sense.
All the longan trees in Miami are in full bloom and the bees are hard at work. Here is one at labor pollinating the flowers of this longan tree. You should come here in June-July to see the result of these workers. Spectacular!
This is a pawnshop in a less affluent neighborhood of Miami, in the downtown area. In case you do not know what this is... Pawnshops and pawnbroking have been around for thousands of years. The basic idea behind any pawnshop is to loan people money.
It goes like this:
1. You bring in something you own and give it to the pawnbroker as collateral for a loan (this act is called pawning). 2. The pawnbroker loans you money against that collateral. 3. When you repay the loan plus the interest, you get your collateral back. 4. After the term, usually 180 days, if you don't repay the loan, the pawnbroker keeps the collateral.
It's 10:30 Monday morning, and this place does not seem to be opened for business yet.
Where are they? I can never find them... These are my spare glasses and I can't read without them. I buy these cheap ones at drugstores, 6 at a time. They are great to read. I lose them about once a month either because they break, or because I can't find them.
Testing a new cheap digital camera: FujiFilm FinePix J150W, resampled from the 10 MegaPixel image... It isn't so bad for the last day of February... Where does the time go?
This papier mache replica of Auguste Rodin's famous monument in 1884 is seen inside the Art Theater of Miami Dade College Kendall campus. It shows the six men facing their impending death. The six "Burghers of Calais" offered their own lives to prevent the slaughter of the people of Calais in 1347 by England's Edward the Third.
WLTV is a Univision owned and operated television station serving Spanish-speaking viewers in South Florida, channel 23, also known as Univision 23. The station is located in Doral, where Univision's production facilities are also located. The transmitter is located in Miami Gardens. This morning, I was behind this mobile broadcasting system for a while, be on the ready to brake or swerve to avoid the falling satellite transponder. You see, I think this truck is too tall, and the antenna barely clears the tree canopies or comes mighty close to hitting some traffic lights. If the operator EVER forgets to stow the antenna before driving this truck off, that will be a catastrophe in the making. I know! It happened to me once before, with a $30K VSAT dish that hit a tree branch! Ouch! This dish is a cheaper version, but it still is an expensive piece of equipment.
This plant bears quite strange flowers. Its name is Freycinetia multiflora (thanks, Tog) and it is one of 65 species of dioecious, climbing or scrambling shrubs of the family Pandanaceae. This scrambling Pandanus is native from the Philippines and it does very well in Miami. The damage seen on its leaves is from the recent cold nights. It'll live.
Miami has palm trees everywhere. These two photos give you a close up look at one species: the Veitchia arecina. This palm is very easy to grow from seed and some plants can reach 100 feet. Its common name is Montgomery palm or Sunshine palm. It is also known as Veitchia montgomeryana. The first photo shows its inflorescent flowers in white filaments.
The next photo shows its fruits, yellowish green turning orange then red when mature. This is not on the same tree as above, but on a neighboring tree.
This is a very nice Italian restaurant on Sunset Drive in the heart of South Miami, near the Sunset Place. Many excellent eatery places are clustered in this neighborhood and you can go broke very fast if you want to sample them all. Trattoria Sole is one half of two. The other one is its sister, Trattoria Luna, a bit further South on US-1. Luna is truly my favorite, and the service there is great.
Red Road's traffic leading to the South Miami Art Festival this weekend. On the right is the Sunset Place. Sunset Drive is at the next intersection where the street is barricaded and the art displays start. The blue sky is washed out because the photo is taken "contre soleil." The next shot shows you the real Miami sky of today.
Here is a typical display space for each artist exhibitioner. The cross street is Red Road (SW 57th Avenue.) I know how much work putting up the booths entails, and it's not free so hopefully for the artists, they can make some money to at least stay afloat in this grueling economy.
I am quite confused with all that is going on in Miami. The pace is frantic! There was just last week an art festival in Coconut Grove and now, there is another one in South Miami, my neck of the woods. Usually, South Miami holds its art festival in November... but I understand today's is the Rotary Club of South Miami's fund raising effort. Proceeds from the show go to Rotary scholarships as well as international and local community service projects. I went there to take a few photos. This boy seems to be curious about the paintings that look to me as some nice scenes from the Florida Keys. There was quite a large crowd and the traffic was pretty bad.
I have this Ochna for many years. This is the one I love the most. This plant is very small and is extremely slow growing. Its beautiful but ephemeral flowers are smaller than the other Ochna species, of sizes only between half to 7/8th of an inch. The most unique feature of this species is that the flowers are pendant facing downward, similar in habit to that of the deliciously strongly fragrant Wrightia religiosa which have even smaller and more delicate white flowers. I really want to know this plant's real name. Meanwhile, I call it my Ochna mysterii. Nobody knows yet the answer to the mystery I face... Such a big world, so many names and only one fits!
