Rio Grande Chirping Frog

Finally!!! We had a very much needed rainy day...

...but before the rain, during the extreme drought conditions, I would find many of these small frogs in my pots of carnivorous plants. They are Rio Grande Chirping Frogs - Eleutherodactylus cystignathoides. They were probably the only source of moisture these little frogs could find. I only see them at night time when I would get home from work and water my plants. Sometimes I would find a few in one small pot.

Here's one Rio Grande Chirping Frog tucked under the leaf of a Nepenthes. The Sphagnum moss is constantly moist/wet so these frogs would find these spots comfortable in the very dry conditions. They make a short little chirping sound: Rio Grande Chirping Frog

So what is the Rio Grande Chirping Frog doing in my Houston, TX yard?? My Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians states that they are introduced to Houston and San Antonio and also that it adapts well to residential areas.

That is a good thing that came out of the drought - finally be able to see what was making all the chirping! I used to think it was the Mediterranean Geckos - Hemidactylus turcicus I always see at night.

Here is the Mediterranean Gecko climbing the wall of my back porch.These are abundant in Houston! ...they sound nothing like the Chirping Frog.

And here is there sound: Mediterranean Gecko sound.

My New Bromeliads

Wanting to make the backyard look tropical and needing to fill two clay urns I decided to look for some new Bromeliads. I actually don't have any Bromeliads in my large collection of plants but have always found them to be very pretty and I really like the way many species live on trees in the wild. I drove to Another Place in Time Nursery in the Heights area of Houston. This was my first time visiting this nursery and I really liked it. They have a nice assortment of plants that will thrive in the Houston weather which include lots of Bromeliads, Ferns, Orchids, Tillandsia, and many other tropicals and garden plants. It was really hard to decide on which Bromeliad to pick as there were so many different types to choose from. I picked out 3 Neoreglia 'Super Fireball' and Tink picked out another Neoreglia that was varigated. Here they are planted in the urns:

Neoreglia 'Super Fireball' , three of them in this clay urn I got from the Viet Hoa grocery store floral department in the SW Houston Chinatown. It was surprised to find a clay urn as most of them are made of resin these days...

They are situated on my backyard deck in the shade of a Crepe Myrtle tree.

The second Bromeliad. Im not sure what specie or cultivar it is... If you know please tell me! :)

I think the Bromeliads have become oasis to the tree frogs during the drought.

Padre Island Coquina Clams

Coquina - Donax variablis, is a clam that is common from Virginia down the Atlantic to the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. In some areas it is extremely abundant (Padre Island, TX) but in other areas rare (Galveston Island, TX). They are easily found at the low tide line and can be so dense that they leave no space in between each other. During my last visit to Padre Island National Seashore I observed thousands and thousands of these very interesting and beautiful bivalves. The clams are quite variable, hence the specific name, and can be found in light blue, green, light purple, pink, yellow, orange, striped, and white. While I walked down the beach I found a quite a few whole Coquina shells which I collected.

Here is the range of colors I found. The left two rows are the insides of the shells which are just as colorful as the outer surface of the shells.

The most abundant color I found on Padre Island is white, followed by light blues, then yellow, orange, pink and striped. I also found one that looked greenish. My favorite ones are the bottom left hand side with the striped sun-ray pattern.

The inside of the shell shows rich colors.

Lunch at Nordstrom

Yesterday was such a nice eventful day! I did a few new things like: seeing my first musical while living in Houston and also eating at a new restaurant for dinner. For lunch I ate at a familiar and regular place - Nordstrom Bistro at the Houston Galleria.

The Nordstrom Bistro is located at the Galleria inside the Nordstrom department store. You have to go up to the third floor and it's entrance is situated between the At Home and BP section. It is a lovely place to have lunch especially while you are in the midst of shopping. Every week they have a Chef's Special, which I usually try as long as it doesn't have any red meat in it. The service was very good as usual.

Today Tink and I had the Chef's Special and the Crab Stack:

(photos taken with the iPhone 4)

Ahhh.... the delicious Crab Stack... the crab meat is so plump and the mango, tomato, and cucumber always fresh.

Ahi Tuna Flatbread... The Tuna was perfectly seared, the tempura green beans crisp, and the grape tomatoes sweet!

Versace for H&M

Versace has released the news on there website that they will be collaborating with H&M!! They will have mens, womens, and home accessories. The items will be sold at select H&M stores starting November 17, 2011.

This looks very exciting! I can't wait to see the items and hopefully buy a few too. The homeware items sound very appealing too.

The above photo is a screenshot from the Versace.com homepage.

For more information go to:

Versace

or this informative article from Vogue.com:

Versace for H&M

***Update***

Donatella Versace wore a Versace for H&M dress for here S/S 2012 Menswear show:

...and here is another article from Vogue.com showing a few of the Versace for H&M pieces:

Versace for H&M preview

Versace Mens S/S 2012

The Versace Men's Spring/Summer 2012 fashion show was today!

The collection was reported as: "masculine, heroic, and glamourous." There is no other way to put it... It was Very Versace.

I like the show but it wasn't my favorite. It will have to grow on me. I think just seeing it as the runway pieces isn't enough. A lot of time I have to see the items individually or styled in a more wearable way as they do in the ad campaigns. Here are some photos of select pieces:

The first look. I like it. Its very wearable and the color is nice for spring/summer.

There were a lot of bright pieces in this collection. The socks with gladiator sandals is odd to me but I do like the sandals a lot otherwise. The shorts are a nice color too but I personally don't like pleats or baggy shorts.

The sunglasses and sandals are must haves for me! The head to toe pattern is not for me but the cut looks very comfortable. The model, Simon Nessman, can make anything look good.

The sunglasses are amazing!! They look very similar to the vintage Versace glasses Lady Gaga has popularized.

The reds in this collection were super bright!

A neutral toned piece that is very wearable.

This is my favorite look of the collection. Im sure the jacket will be all over the place in the spring/summer fashion magazines and in the ad campaign. It looks amazing! If you are thinking about buying it inquire at your local Versace boutique early because they will only have a few (if not only one) and they/it will sell out fast!

I like this knit. Even though it is long sleeve it should be comfortable due to the openings in the fabric.

There were a few pieces of swimwear (thank goodness). This is my favorite of the lot.

I also like how the black and white pattern of this years S/S collection is incorporated into next years.

A nice black suit with the interesting detail of buckles. There was a lot of pieces with buckles in this collection. Some paints had buckles going down the entire length of the outer-seam of each leg.

All photos from Style.com

My Garden - Late Spring 2011 pt.2

A few more wildflowers bloomed this week even with temperatures going over 100 degrees Fahrenheit! ... The drought continues and on the news they were talking about the water-restrictions being put in effect.

Missouri Ironweed - Vernonia missurica , these were started from seed this past fall and are now starting to bloom. They bees really like them.

Mexican Hat - Ratibida columnifera , a common wildflower of Houston. Some of the wild plants around Houston are much more colorful with a dark orange to red petals. It is the prefect plant if you want a care free garden. Another very drought tolerant plant.

Sunflower - Helianthus annuus , a very pretty and abundant wildflower in Houston. I remember when I first moved to Houston I was impressed on how this plant was everywhere. It makes a nice garden plant as well. Mine are about 10 feet tall. The seed was collected from the City Centre area of Houston before it was developed again. :P

Martha's Entertaining

** Update! The book will now be released on Oct. 25, 2011!!!*

I just pre-ordered this book on Amazon.com! The cover looks great and I cant wait until November 1st when it is released! :D

432 pages

Published by Clarkson Potter

November 1, 2011

Pacifica Patio Set

Today I received my new patio set!! It is the Pacifica patio set by Martha Stewart Living bought from HomeDepot.com

Pacifica Collection 4-Piece Chat Set

The Pacifica collection is made with steel for strength and durability, and features spun poly fabric and a Frosted Gold frame finish. This 4 piece chat set includes 2 chat chairs, 1 loveseat, and 1 glass top coffee table. The set also includes fashioned mildew and fade-resistant cushions.

Text above from homedepot.com

Love Seat

One of the two cushions

One of the two chat chairs ...very comfortable!

The coffee table with tinted glass

...and each piece has a nice label.

Im really happy because this is the final piece needed to complete my small backyard renovation project. I intend to spend lots of time relaxing and enjoying the garden as much as possible...

My Garden - Late Spring 2011

Today it is 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Houston, TX and the drought continues...

My garden is doing pretty good despite the intense heat and major lack of rain. I believe that it is doing so well because I planted wildflowers that are all historically found in this region of Texas. I have watered them minimally just so they will bloom but even if left them unwatered they would survive and some would still thrive like the Gaillardia. So here are some of the recent bloomers:

Spiderwort - Tradescantia ohiensis ...the flower blooms in the morning and closes up by the heat of mid-day. This one in the photo is nodding which is nice though they do face up and in all other directions. The plants I bought were small and I watered them weekly until they became established.

Sanguine Coneflower - Echinacea sanguinea , this is the first time I've grown this plant. It didn't get as tall as I thought it would be (only reached about a foot) but that might be because of the lack of water. It is pretty rare in cultivation and I only have one plant. Hopefully it will have lots of seed and I can propagate some more. It is a common wildflower in the piney woods of east Texas.

Turks Cap - Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii - This short shrub is growing in the shade of a Live Oak with Scarlet Sage - Salvia coccinea. It doesn't seem to need any care at all and blooms nicely during the intense heat.

Indian Blanket - Gaillardia pulchella , this has been the most rewarding flower that I have planted. It thrives no matter where I plant it. It doesn't require any additional water to bloom and grows quickly to blooming size (just a few months from seed). A must have for the Houston garden.

Black-eyed Susan - Rudbeckia hirta , this is another low maintenance plant. I planted my main front yard garden with these mixed with Beebalm - Monarda fistulosa (which is growing nicely but has yet to bloom) and Rudbeckia maxima in the background.

Giant Coneflower - Rudbeckia maxima , another of my favorite Texas wildflowers. Very easy to grow! These particular plants in the picture survived and thrived the entire summer last year with no additional watering or care. The plants are tall; these reached 5 1/2 feet this year with the drought conditions. They also have a nice silvery foliage which makes them attractive even when not in bloom.

Portuguese Man o' War

Hello! On Memorial Day some friends and I took a trip to Padre Island National Seashore to enjoy the day. It was a lot of fun as usual and the day was beautiful. The waves were pretty big this time and there was a lot of sargassum seaweed washed up on the shore along with a very interesting creature.

The Portuguese Man o' War - Physalia physalis! The Man o' War is like a jellyfish but differs in that instead of being a single organism it is a colony of organisms called zooids. During our trips to Padre Island in the summer we always see them and I saw about 10 washed up on the beach and one floating in the surf during the few hours we were there. They ranged in size from a golf ball to a grapefruit (but are irregular shaped as apposed to round). They are beautiful creatures and also very deadly. Like jellyfish they are capable of using stinging cells to capture prey, such as small fish, and for defense against predators. It is best to use caution around the Man o' War and to not touch them even when they are washed up (the stinging cells will still sting).

As you can see from the photo above there is a bit of seaweed and the surf was strong. But everyone was have a really fun time!

The beautiful Sargassum seaweed. It is home to many many different animals! We have found various species of shrimp, blue crabs, sargassum crabs, seahorses, pipefish, sargassum fish, sergeant majors, filefish, and a few other species of juvenile fish living in the seaweed itself. I love the golden color...

Portuguese Man o'War - Physalia physalis , one of the larger specimens we found washed up.

It is a beautiful and amazing creature. The colors remind me of a watercolor painting. I think it is becoming one of my favorite animals of the Texas beach (maybe until I get stung) :D