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I finally found an excellent use for the longans that still fall from the trees. Feeding the red ants. These fellows love them and here they are hard at work with a banquet from heaven. In a while, the only thing left is the shiny black seed.
The internet and wireless communication are two services that generate tons of money very fast so big companies go all out to fight for customers. Here is the new cable system laid by AT&T to carry their new Uverse service that bundles telephone, internet and television in one big bill. The service is delivered to the homes from these boxes via co-ax cables. Pronto, new money making machine rolling non stop.
I saw this micro flower enterprise for some time at this spot and finally had a chance to take a snapshot today. This is probably illegal so the owner was very worried when I took the photo. I could not talk to him because he only understands Spanish. I can tell you one thing.. his Phalaenopsis are truly beautiful and very healthy. You can't find these anywhere in town at this price. To protect his privacy, I won't tell you where this is.
In Miami, we have the luxury of having yards where grass make their home. But if you do not take care of them regularly, you get something like this... a jungle of grass that can grow as high as this, perhaps 2 to 3 feet in height. It will be a nightmare to mow this down.
This looks like a serious accident and it tied up traffic for a while today on US-1 and SW 144th street. Usually, when you see many paramedics converging to care for a person, it's a good chance there is some kind of medical emergency, like a heart attack or something life threatening.
This White Stork, Ciconia ciconia, is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It is at ease and at home here at the Zoo Miami. It is free to roam and does not seem to be afraid of the human visiting the zoo.
South Miami homes always have discreet charms to offer... that is if you look, you'll find treasures here and there. This sculpture would make a nice "Jack-O-Lantern" for Halloween with the addition of a candle at nights. And do you know what? In the US, Halloween is arriving soon... at the end of October.
The American bulldog is a breed of domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris). Though larger in size, they are the closest surviving relative of the Old English bulldog, because American breeders did not change their appearance as much as their European breeders. There are generally considered to be two types of American bulldog, the Johnson type and the Scott type. These types are named after the breeders' names, John D. Johnson and Allen Scott. These are more commonly known as Classic, or Bully type, and Standard, or Performance type.
Meet Precious, a 3 month old female Classic Johnson darling.
The cat (Felis catus), also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felines and felids, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and ability to hunt vermin and household pests. Cats have been associated with humans for at least 9,500 years, and are currently the most popular pet in the world (well, some say that dogs come before cats, I would call it a tie.) Owing to their close association with humans, cats are now found almost everywhere on Earth. Do you know that there is not a country on earth that does not have cats?
Their adaptability and predatory instincts make them effective hunters. In some locations, cats have affected indigenous animal populations; this has led them to be classified as an invasive species in some areas. In my neighborhood, this lady and her companions keep all the rats off limit.
This is what the cooking (kitchen) area looks like at Betty's Best hamburger place. The food is prepared here and placed on the counter, then customers are called by name to "come and get it."
The Dominican Republic (República Dominicana) is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries. Both by area and population, the Dominican Republic is the second largest Caribbean nation. It is going all out on an advertising campaign in Miami and you see many huge advertising billboards like this one at the Dadeland Mall. The advertised web site seen here has all it takes to book you on a vacation tour there.
Early morning relaxation at Matheson Hammock. This is near the entrance to the park.
I had a couple of hours to kill today so I went inside this blood mobile to relieve my veins of a pint of blood... just in case that can help somebody someday. It was quite painless. They gave me a T-shirt, a coupon that I won't use, and at the end, a cool drink and a very bad Subway sub. Instead of blogging here a "crappy" self portrait of myself with a huge needle in my arm, I decided to use instead the photo I took of my neighbor blood donor... Kevin, who is a student at Miami Dade College. The students really responded well to the blood drive today and the blood mobile was full of young blood donors. Thank you, Kevin!
If you are super rich and want a set of fancy wheels to drive around in Miami, you go to the Collection. But if you are just so so... but still want the expensive babies to cruise the streets with.. you come here, to the "pre-owned" Collection. It's not brand new... but who's to know by just looking at you in your shiny Maserati?
As I have mentioned before, selling medication via doctors' prescription for health care is one of the best cash cows in the US. For this reason, stores with built-in pharmacies appear like mushrooms in Miami. Here is a new one to materialize out of thin air very soon at the corner of Sunset Drive and SW 117th Avenue. Of course, competition is fierce. At the other three corners are Walgreens, TJ Max and the Snapper Creek Plaza on the West side as seen in this snap shot.
OK, OK... I know... My blog has become quite boring with the domination of the longans kind. Today's is the absolute last one... just to document that this assault finally came to an end... The fruits are left on the tree to fall on their own time. This photo shows the size these Kohala longans can attain and they can get quite big. The biggest one here is about 1.5 inch in diameter as you can see by comparison with the US quarter which is about 1 inch in diameter. These longans have tiny seeds so the meat is quite substantial. The End!
Quote from news ads: "Beginning this fall, Starbucks introduces four flavors to the Starbucks VIA® line. These delicious and aromatic blends are inspired by some of Starbucks most popular beverage flavors: Vanilla, Mocha, Caramel and Cinnamon Spice. Each packet makes a wonderfully balanced cup of coffee and is ideal for life-on-the-go. Starbucks VIA® Flavored Coffee is a blend of 100 percent arabica instant coffee and rich flavors, and is sweetened with natural cane sugar."
All this sounds like Greek to me but this location on Sunset Drive and SW 87th Avenue is always busy with customers buzzing around like bees. My curiosity pushed me to try a $3.69 cup of tea. That clearly was not my cup of tea at all. I hope that wasn't the arabica type because whatever it was, I didn't like it. Can you believe that this brew costs a lot more than gasoline? Unbelievable! I now know what the Bucks mean in the Starbucks name: astronomical!
Fiery Venus is a wonderful planet to look at, but you wouldn't want to live there! During the "Golden Age of Science Fiction" in the 1930's and 40's, Venus was a frequent setting for space adventure stories. After all, cloud-covered Venus is nearly the same size as Earth and it's only a little closer to the Sun than Earth is. Readers and writers alike fancied Venus as an enticing safari planet -- a steaming world-wide jungle filled with unknown and exotic creatures.
However, know that its surface temperature is about 860 degrees F (460 degrees C,) hot enough to melt lead! The atmospheric pressure is about 90 times that of Earth. You'd be crushed! And it rains sulfuric acid there. But here, from our Earth, we can see this beautiful sight safely from afar, looking due West. At this time of the year, it's the brightest star in the sky. This is about 8:30PM and this photo from my iPhone 4 does a decent job capturing this planet. If you click on the photo to look at the high resolution, you should also see Mars clustering to the left of Venus. Venus is setting about now, the time I publish this blog, at about 9:40PM.
Sorry to disappoint you. In Miami at this time, a typical open air market like this Norman Brothers has not much to show outdoors. It is simply still too hot to torture the fruits and veggies putting them outside. Besides, no one will endure the heat to buy them. So... all the goodies are moved indoors where A/C reigns. The only thing I see today out front is this crate of avocados. If for any consolation, they are certified "Organic Locally Grown," these Bernecker Avocados, and they cost US $1.45 each. That's a bit too rich for my cold blood. I don't like avocado anyway, and if I want them, I can hit tog free of charge for the ones his squirrels don't take.
This morning, I saw this little bird perching on the steel wire here. Do birds have friends and family? How long do birds live? What is this bird thinking? Does it know that today is the last day of August and tomorrow is a new month? Does it care? All good questions, don't you think?
