Most times, when I’m on the marsh I’m concentrating – paying attention to a falcon and some ducks. The tide was all wrong this morning and there’s a storm rolling in now that the water is more cooperative (mid-afternoon), so I thought I’d just go for a stroll, scout things a bit and take in the marsh in a slightly more relaxed frame of mind.
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I have bad news and good news.
The bad news – so far 100% of the morphed tadpoles (7 to date) have had Spindly Leg Syndrome (SLS). I wasn’t surprised to get some SLS – the bassleri guru tells me that the species is very prone to it – but I am a little disappointed that no normal tads have morphed yet.
The good news – my male disappeared for almost two weeks. I was starting to worry, but yesterday, while pruning the clump of Spathiphyllum, I found him. He’s been guarding another clutch – laid way back in a hidden area. The clutch was almost ready yesterday; today he has tadpoles on his back – he’s transporting! I’m going to let this clutch grow out in the water feature of the big viv – fingers are crossed.
The male with tads on back (look for the bump directly to the right of the stalk). Clicking on the picture will bring up a ginormous version, the better to see the tad with.
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And a picture of the (presumed) female – they really are pretty little things.
If it’s February, it must be orchid show time (here’s last year’s trip). I’m going to spotlight three little guys.
Mediocalar bifolium – from the cloud forests of New Guinea and some adjacent islands. The combination of white outer and red base makes me think of a partridgeberry flower/fruit mash-up.
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Pleurothallis truncata – from montane Ecuador. Quite a few pleorothallids like to sent their flowers out from the center of their leaves – I picked up a P. palliolata for the big viv – when/if it flowers I’ll post some pix.
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Masdevallia tridens – another cloud forest orchid from Ecuador. Cloud forest plants are often gorgeous, but almost always tricky to grow – lots of light, lots of humidity, lots of air movement and cool, stable temps – conditions that are not easy to replicate.
A long simmering project finally boils over. Lehmanhaus is the umbrella identity applied to my various activities w/ predatory critters – dog training and breeding mainly. Thanks largely to the efforts of A Certain Design Student and a friend who teaches Latin, I am pleased to unveil the official Lehmanhaus t shirt! [fireworks and gunfire stage right, ululation and baying hounds stage left]
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If any of you out there are crazy enough to actually want one (please – seek help) I have some extras. I’m going to do this the low tech way (except for preferring payment via PayPal) email me (dr.hypercube-at-gmail.com) what you want and I’ll figure out shipping, tell you what the total damage is, etc. They’re $12.50 a pop – I’m trying to cover expenses – plus shipping.
On the name – Lehman is my mom’s maiden name. A good Swiss/German moniker (Mennonite) that matches well with my German dogs.