Are you cereus?

Update

2017-07-17T17:42:00.002-07:00

Wow, I let this go, for almost 6 years. Time flies.

I still photograph the cereus (and other flowers and landscapes), but I started posting my pictures to Facebook instead, as that's much easier to use, although my account is not public [1]. I also have started posting pictures to Instagram, to an account I recently made public. I've been retouching a lot of old pictures with some new software and (slightly) improved skills I've acquired over the years, so come visit me there. The cereus page I created years ago is still alive, but the software I used to create it is not, so it's hard to update.

On the personal side, I retired from UCLA in 2015 and moved to Albany, NY, where I now teach at the SUNY campus there. The cereus came along, although I have to say it doesn't seem to like the New York environment much. No blooms so far this year -- not even a single bud -- but the plant is busying itself producing long, green shoots. The summer is short here, and the winter harsh, so the plant is running out of time to make a show in 2017. In the past, the plant had a habit of producing a bloom or two on my (September) birthday, and maybe there's still a little hope of that this year!

[1] There is a "Robert G. Fovell" on Facebook but, although that (rather hideous) picture is of me, I did not create that page.

The old cereus returns (and so do I) - August 2011

2011-08-20T17:55:00.001-07:00

It's been a long time since I updated these pages. Just too busy. This page started as a place to put pictures of our night-blooming cereus plants that didn't fit on the webpage I created years ago. That original cereus was gravely damaged in January 2007 by a series of hard freezes (it can get below freezing in Los Angeles).

The plant was thought to be dead, but eventually new sprouts emerged from the soil. Gradually, it returned to health, becoming a very prolific producer of flat, green leaves... but no flowers. A few weeks ago, about a dozen buds were spotted on the original plant as well as two others that were separated out from the original after it revived. All three participated in this series of blooms that spanned three nights. There are no buds remaining on the plant that I have been able to detect, so this is probably it for the season.

I'm not especially fond of this particular batch of photographs, but without further ado, here are some of the pictures.

Most of these shots were fused from three different exposures using a program called Photomatix Pro. I don't have a lot of experience with HDR photography, so this is something of a learning experience.

I've been trying to recreate this backlit shot for some time. I like the original very much, but it's an old 2 megapixel shot, which means it does not bear much enlargement.

That's all for now.

Trona Pinnacles - January 2010

2010-01-03T13:26:00.000-08:00

The Trona Pinnacles are located in the Mojave Desert, about 20 miles east of Ridgecrest. These tufa towers were formed when the area was covered by an ancient lake. Several movies, including Start Trek V, were filmed there. We went to the Pinnacles for the first time on New Year's Day, and the sky was somewhat uncooperative during the visit...

There was a nice sunset over the Mojave on the way home, however. Perhaps we left the Pinnacles a wee bit too early.

A cereus bud!

2009-10-03T16:37:00.000-07:00

We've never had more cereus (oxypetalum) plants, and they've never looked healthier. However, there's been no activity this summer at all... other than the making of many new, big leaves. In contrast with past years, the plants spent the winter indoors, and have occupied a shady place this summer. They never get direct sun. This may be why the leaves have stayed a deep, vibrant green and most of the leaves do not look motheaten.

And the plants missed blooming on my birthday this year, which hasn't happened often in the last decade.

But, here's a look at a soon-to-be literal late bloomer...

Based on my photographic record, this plant looks to be about 11 days from blooming. Any later than that, and I'll miss it, owing to being out of town.

[Update: This flower bloomed the night after we left, so that's why there are no pictures.]

Yellowstone National Park - August 2009 (Part III)

2009-08-30T07:47:00.001-07:00

Now for the third and final segment of Yellowstone pictures, starting with Upper Falls from Uncle Tom's Trail. We did all 328 steps down. Well, down wasn't the hard part!

A close-up of that rainbow...

Tower Falls...

The Yellowstone River snakes around...

This sign didn't lie...

My guess is this is a young elk...

Two views of Lower Falls from Artist Point at dawn

And, finally, the Teton Range again, this time from Snake River Overlook on the way back south...

Yellowstone National Park - August 2009 (Part II)

2009-08-29T12:46:00.001-07:00

Most of the Teton and Yellowstone pictures were taken with a recently acquired Canon Rebel T1i, a 15 MP camera bought to succeed my aging 8 MP Digital Rebel XT. It's a nice camera but one major complaint is its mode dial is far too easily moved, which has led to me sometimes taking pictures using inappropriate settings. Oh, well. Now, if only the damned cereus plants would bloom! :-)

Here are some more Yellowstone pictures, starting with Clepsydra Geyser...

That's not marble, it's the damp surface of Grand Prismatic Spring...

Another, better show from Old Faithful...

Deer near Grant Village...

Yellowstone Lake at dawn, from near Gull Point..

Ironically, fishing isn't allowed from the Fishing Bridge, perhaps owing to the otters...

Family portrait...

Yellowstone National Park - August 2009 (Part I)

2009-08-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

From Grand Teton, we went north to Yellowstone, a much more crowded park. Just inside the South Entrance, we encountered Lewis Falls, just off the west side of the road...

The Kepler Cascades, near Old Faithful...

Speaking of Old Faithful...

Boil, bubble, toil and trouble... at Firehole Lake...

Not the surf reaching the shore... it's boiling water...

A cascade of steaming, hot water...

Firehole Falls... nice, cool water...

At Firehole Cascade...

Grand Teton National Park - August 2009

2009-08-22T18:08:00.000-07:00

After the most exhausting summer of my life, it's time for an exhausting vacation :-) Yesterday, we arrived in Grand Teton NP, having left from Salt Lake City where the Mesoscale Conference was held. These pictures were taken today, from near Jenny Lake. The first is Grand Teton mountain itself from the trail to Hidden Falls.

And this is downstream of Hidden Falls...

The sun, low in the sky over the Snake River at Oxbow Bend...

Bison are everywhere in the park, and are completely unafraid of people. Indeed, they like to stand in the road and stare at all the shiny cars with their strange, two-legged occupants. With time, bison encounters went from a scary novelty to a tedious event...

Here are bison walking in front of an old barn on Mormon Row...

On to Yellowstone...

Huntington Library - February and April 2009

2009-04-26T18:58:00.000-07:00

We were able to get away to the Huntington Library's botanical gardens twice so far this year, in February and April. As you certainly would expect, there were many more flowers in bloom in April, especially in the Cactus Garden. First, flowering plants related to the cereus, though of course these will all be day bloomers. The cactus greenhouse is open on Saturdays, and among the specimens in bloom during the visit was this beautiful cereus labeled "Epicactus 'Mystic Mood'":

Two more views of this cereus...

Echinopsis obrepanda, also from the greenhouse. (Don't these Latin names sound like vile diseases?)

I didn't get the name of this one, but I think it's the same plant I had that perished in the January, 2007, freeze:

Straining for the sun,,,

One stands above the crowd...

Cyclops is a little bit spooky, especially when it catches the sun...

Finally, from February, a butterfly alights on a peach tree in the Chinese Garden that was in bloom at the time...

Sequoia National Park - March 2009

2009-04-26T18:28:00.001-07:00

In March, we went up to Wuksachi Lodge in Sequoia National Park. A foot and a half of snow fell after our arrival, making for some nice pictures and an interesting drive down the mountain. Before the snow fell, the clouds rolled in...

After the snow, on the drive back down...

Farther down the mountain, close to the snowline, where the snow on the road had already melted...

Looking back at the snow-covered mountains...

Death Valley - December 2008

2009-04-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

It's been months since I updated this blog -- been too bloody busy, unfortunately -- so here's a spate of posts. These are pictures I took at Death Valley National Park late last December. First, the charcoal kilns above Wildrose are always worth a visit...

Sunrise, after a little help from Photoshop...

Two views of sand dunes, that same sunrise...

Death Valley itself, seen from Badwater Basin. A large, framed version of this one now adorns the kitchen wall...

From near Artists' Palette...

Mountains near sunset...

What constellation are you seeing in this photograph of the night sky? Click here for some assistance.

Beijing, China - October 2008

2008-11-08T14:11:00.000-08:00

I recently spent a week in Beijing, China, but was far too busy to take many pictures. But, here are a few shots. The first three were taken at the Summer Palace:

The "Bird's Nest" as seen from a bus:

On television, the Water Cube appeared a much deeper blue than seen here, perhaps because I usually saw the building at night and perhaps illuminated from inside:

What did they do with Floor 0?

Alaska - September 2008

2008-11-08T13:52:00.000-08:00

We took our first-ever trip, a land/sea tour, to Alaska early last September. Here are a few pictures from that excursion. The first shows our son, Ty, deep in thought on the train to Denali National Park:

More of the notoriously fickle Mt. McKinley than most visitors ever manage to see:

Some rushes growing on the swampy tundra:

Elsewhere, fall colors were much in evidence:

My first double rainbow made its appearance in Denali!

An arctic bird glides over an ice-speckled Glacier Bay:

Some of Alaska's cloud-enshrouded mountain peaks:

Ketchikan, the place where we were guaranteed to see rain, proved the only fully sunny place of the trip:

Cue the theme from Jaws:

"You talkin' to me?":

The new cereus blooms - 6/30/08

2008-07-02T17:37:00.000-07:00

The cereus acquired last summer has produced its first bloom. The second of the two pictures below was taken after sunrise, with natural light. The aqua backdrop is a pool cover.

The plant is growing some new leaves, but there are no additional buds at this time.

Another Huntington visit - 27 June 2008

2008-06-27T07:28:00.001-07:00

We made another of our (almost yearly) pilgrimages to Pasadena's Huntington Library gardens yesterday. There were several species of cereus in bloom, and I took plenty of pictures, only to find the SanDisk CompactFlash card on which they should have been stored essentially empty. Not a single picture. This was a brand new card, which I tested prior to use. The other new card, purchased at the same time, functioned properly, as did the older cards (all SanDisk) I pressed into service. So, as a result, no cereus pictures from the Desert Garden this time around. I wish I knew what happened...

So, our tour today starts with the Lily Pond, which was the main center of attention. The pond was quite still, allowing for some nice reflections off its surface...

We don't recall seeing these huge lotus flowers in our previous visits - at least they were not in bloom...

Also at the Lily Pond, an insect alights on a lotus flower bud...

...while in the water, a turtle swam placidly...

Mojave pictures from April, 2008

2008-06-08T20:38:00.001-07:00

Been too busy to get some poppy pictures I took last April in the Mojave Desert, probably around the peak of the wildflower season there. The display there was nowhere near as good as it has been in the past, but still a good show. The first picture shows a picture I took along a dirt road well north of Hwy 134, looking north.

More poppy fields. In the second picture below, dry white bushes can be seen surrounded by poppies:

Those bushes become tunbleweeds when uprooted. This seems to be as far as those weeds actually get...

Poppies grow along a dry creek that wound its way through a desert farm:

Finally, a poppy rears its head above the crowd..

[27 June 2008: I've been using Apple's .Mac service to host this blog's pictures, but its frequent recent outages have prompted me to move them elsewhere.]

A new bud!

2008-06-08T19:17:00.001-07:00

Since being brought outdoors recently, the new cereus plant acquired last summer has acquired a new bud. There's just one, and it has appeared on a leaf that has not fared very well (note the damage in the pictures below), but so far, so good. I have moved the plant to a place with plenty of light but no direct sun, to see if that helps.

Meanwhile, the original cereus continues to grow. The picture below shows how far it has come as of today. In the foreground, the remains from its first life can again be seen.

The old cereus returns...

2008-05-11T15:49:00.000-07:00

As a friend's cereus is already blooming, I thought it time to revisit our own plant, a replacement for the one done in by the January, 2007, freeze. The cutting obtained that summer had been growing indoors, but was transplanted to an outdoor location just last week. It is still growing well, though it still seems unlikely there will be any blooms from it this year.

But the real story here may be the original cereus wasn't completely dead after all! Look carefully in the photo below and see that new growth has very recently appeared near one of the plant's old, ostensibly dead leaves. After we decided the plant was a goner during the summer of 2007, this pot was largely neglected, and rarely watered. Maybe a little neglect is sometimes a good thing? :-)

Poppies in Old Agoura - April, 2008

2008-04-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

Since last September, we've had 16.8" of rain at our house northwest of Los Angeles, which probably represents a below-normal total. However, 12.2" of that fell in a single month, January, which is probably the optimal time for encouraging spring flowers. The hills in the Conejo Valley are lush and green, dotted with yellow mustard and orange poppies. However, every silver lining has a cloud, and what grows now might burn later.

We'll worry about that later. For now, here are some pictures of the California golden poppy, our state flower, taken at Old Agoura Park in Agoura Hills.

The poppy's petals are somewhat translucent, giving a nice shadow effect where petals overlap when seen through strong light.

The flowers shown above are actually orange, the most common color of this flower; the petals can look somewhat yellowish depending on the light. That said, the next two photos show that true yellow and multicolor versions also exist...

...and they even come in pure white! I don't recall seeing this in earlier years,,,

Finally, here's another extreme close-up of the common orange variety:

Mostly setting and rising (March 2008)

2008-03-29T20:41:00.001-07:00

Spring break took us to (only) our second trip to Lake Tahoe, the first having been almost exactly three years ago. The lake provides a nice canvas for the sun and moon, both of which are most dramatic when relatively low on the horizon. The first picture below juxtaposes a setting sun with a shot of the moon taken just before dawn.

A few more sunset shots:

Finally, a waterfall near Emerald Bay...

On the way back, we passed through the Grapevine/Gorman area on I-5 which in years past has played host to some amazing spring flower displays. Although this has not been a wet winter here in Southern California, what rain did come was concentrated in January when it ostensibly has the potential to do the most good for spring flowers. However, while there are reports of very nice blooms at lower elevations to the south, there was little activity (yet) around the Grapevine. Just a few more weeks?

Growth and decay

2008-02-27T21:10:00.000-08:00

By growth, I'm referring to the new cereus, purchased last year to replace the old plant that died about a year ago now. After a rough start, the plant is growing quickly, producing the stalk seen in the photo below. The leaf seen at rear is disfigured, the result of a rotting disease that luckily appears to have been arrested. Getting the plant more natural light appears to have been the cure.

By decay, I'm referring to Scientific American which has in its March issue a story on electronic markets that contains a remarkable claim:

[T]he futures market for orange juice concentrate predicts Florida weather better than the National Weather Service.

This statement is offered without proof, without reference or citation, and without even defining what it means by "weather" or revealing what its metrics for success or skill are. I found several sloppy or needlessly contentious statements among the articles in that issue, which I bought and perused in an airport while awaiting a flight. I used to read Scientific American years ago. I don't know why I stopped reading it, but I know why I won't be resuming that old habit anytime soon.

And I'd still like to see the proof.

Sunsets and haze

2007-12-24T22:43:00.001-08:00

I've been much too busy lately to take many pictures, but here are some from the last few months. The theme is 'sunsets and haze'. The first picture shows the sun setting behind an offshore platform, taken from Ventura, California.

Two views of a sunset seen from Sequoia National Park:

Finally, the view from Sequoia's Eleven Range Overlook:

Taiwan - August/September 2007

2007-09-08T20:55:00.000-07:00

We returned to Taiwan for the first time in 14 years. Some things have not changed: Taipei is still very crowded, very humid, very busy. Personal space is at a minimum. Other things have changed: fewer cars, better mass-transit, improved air quality. The world's tallest building is, at least temporarily, in Taipei. The high speed rail system on the island's west side reduced a 6+ hour train ride to Kaohsiung to 90 min (and was smooth and very cool). Many more signs in English, and Pinyin has largely supplanted Wade-Giles for romanization of Chinese words. People didn't look so painfully thin, a sign of prosperity. Another change: Taiwan is now a vigorous democracy, it citizens unafraid to voice their opinions.

Here are some pictures taken while touring about the island. The first three come from Yehliu Beach, on Taiwan's northeast shore, one of the strangest places on Earth. I particularly liked these sandstone columns, which were typically topped by rock-filled craters.

The Pacific Ocean, from Kenting National Park in southern Taiwan:

From Kaohsiung, the Nine Corner Bridge, a pagoda, rowers on Lotus Lake, and one of its namesakes:

A butterfly alights on a flower in Taroko Gorge:

Swans making waves in Datun Natural Park:

A cloud over Taipei's National Palace Museum:

Taipei 101 skyscraper:

Two amusing signs. The elevator is disabled?

A sign warning of rockfalls in Taroko Gorge displays a sense of humor!

Miscellaneous pictures (April to July 2007)

2007-07-08T16:49:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures taken last April at Pasadena's (actually San Marino's) Huntington Library, starting with a Trichocereus thelegonus, a spiky cactus from Argentina...

Two views of Echinocereus pentalophus and its speculacular flower...

A bee hovers over this one, which was labeled X Echinobivia...

I was so taken with looking at this one that I forgot to record its name...

Sunset from the Pier at Ventura, California, on July 3rd...

Finally, the new Epiphyllum oxypetalum, thanks to Don at Epiphyllum World, who was a pleasure to deal with. This one won't be left out in subfreezing weather...

Cereus paintings

2007-06-28T23:30:00.000-07:00

Artist Rafe Terry painted two of my cereus photographs, reproductions of which are shown below. Larger images can be seen at his website.

The originals used for inspiration are included in the slide show at my "Night Blooming Cereus" page.