Orchds Can be Fun

Since some of you have requested more information about orchids I thought I would dedicate at least one post to those beautiful, mysterious, and wonderful plants.

When my wife and I moved to Kansas City in the fall of 2002 we had never grown an orchid though we were both dedicated plant nuts.  A weekend visit to Powell Gardens just east of KC in January of 2003 gave us our first up-close introduction to Orchids. Not only did they have this amazing display showing off the endless variety there are they even had some for sale.  I know image that. Well there was this one plant that was a mass of golden yellow flowers on multiple sprays that was delicate and amazing so we bought it and brought it home.

Six weeks later that plant was still in full glorious bloom and we were hooked. We started looking for a Kansas City Orchid Club and I can tell you if there is a flower Kansas City has a club for it.

It was fall of 2003 before we could make it to a meeting of the Greater Kansas City Orchid Society. For those of you wanting to check it out after this see the web site here.

http://www.osgkc.org/

 What we have learned over the years is that growing Orchids is not all that difficult once you understand that they are not like other house plants.

The first thing many people notice, after the amazing flowers, is the roots of most Orchids. Orchids are epiphytic, that is, their roots are aerial. They don’t grow on the forest floor the grow up in the tree canopy clinging to any branch or bark of a host tree. So if you repot an Orchid as if it were a garden geranium you will kill it.  Ours get planted in a mixture of coca bark, charcoal and perlite. Or just tied to a branch with some nylon string and a small piece if moss.

In the winter they are inside of course and we’ve enclosed a porch area on the south side of our house just for them. With extra insulation and wall of windows and a tile floor we can keep the light levels high enough and the humidity up in the 70% range.

In the summer months they reside under a pergola on our back deck with an automated sprinkler system so that they get rained on twice a day.

Unlike most other plant species Orchids do come in almost any color you can imaging. For example roses and most summer flowers are red, yellow or white and combinations of those colors but never will you find one in a true blue.  On the other end of the scale irises come in a multitude of blue, white and yellow colors but not red.

Orchids do have a scent depending upon the species.  Some can be intoxicating they are so strong smelling and those scent can be almost anything from rose scent, to lilac scent. To chocolate scent (what could be more perfect huh) to a scent specifically designed to attract flies…yes it smells rather bad.

One of the more interesting things about Orchids and Kansas City is that right here we have one of the most amazing Orchid growers in the world and one that people have traveled hundreds of miles just to see. Bird Botanical specializes in Orchids and their greenhouse is inside a cave at 23^rd St. and I-435. Inside the cave he can control everything from how long the daylight hours are to exact temperature and humidity.  If you ever get the chance you really should stop in and see them. One word of caution though, Orchids can be addicting.

http://www.birdsbotanicals.com/

Memorial Day

Since this is the Memorial Day Weekend I thought I might present a blog post that takes everyone sort of inside a part of what this weekend is suppose to be like.

Normally I don't share pieces I've written until I am completely satisfied with the finished product, however just for you guys here is a portion of this idea I got last Thursday put to paper. Or in this case computer.  I look forward to your feedback because my instincts tell me there is a lot more to this than I have managed to get out of my head to this point.

 

 

 

The Sentinel



The lights of the capitol glitter like jewels in the distance.

Five – Six – Seven – Eight

The chill air is crystal clear so much so that I can just make out the top of the Monument in the midst of all those twinkling lights.

Nine – Ten – Eleven – Twelve

Closer by, the river winds around, a dark yet silvery ribbon.

Thirteen – Fourteen – Fifteen – Sixteen

Below me along the well-kept slopes the Garden of Stone lies shimmering in the moonlight.

Seventeen – Eighteen – Nineteen – Twenty

The stark white markers standing in seemingly never ending rows.

Twenty-One, Right Face and face the Tomb and Pause

The Tomb. Seven total pieces, seventy-nine tons of the whitest marble to be found.

One – Two –Three – Four

In the light from the full moon the marble seems to glow as if lit from within.

Five – Six – Seven – Eight

Victory gazes back at me from the carved center pane on the front of the Tomb.

Nine – Ten – Eleven – Twelve

To her right stands Valor, his countenance stern and unflinching.

Thirteen – Fourteen – Fifteen – Sixteen

To the left is Peace, her palm branch held out to reward the devotion and sacrifice that went with courage to make the cause of righteousness triumphant.

Seventeen – Eighteen – Nineteen – Twenty

 

On the back of the tomb is the oft’ quoted line, “HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER KNOWN BUT TO GOD”.

Twenty-One, shoulder arms rifle away from tomb, Right Face and pause again



Before me the black rubber lies stark against the grey granite marking my path clearly.

One – Two – Three – Four

Behind me I can hear the faint sounds of the city. Before me even the night seems to hold her reverence for this place.

Five – Six – Seven – Eight

I am a member of the Old Guard, My job is to protect these hallowed few. I shall never desert my sacred post.

Nine _ Ten _ Eleven - Twelve

The silence here this time of night is deep and steadfast companion. I find the silence comforting though others might not.

Thirteen – Fourteen – Fifteen - Sixteen

No one to intrude upon the majestic solitude of this place.

Seventeen – Eighteen – Nineteen - Twenty

The utter sense of solemnity that this place deserves.

Twenty-One, step off again

My footfalls are barely audible on the mat as I walk my post besides the great marble Tomb.

One – Two – Three – Four

Below me lie the graves of Admirals, Generals, even Presidents but up here are only those sacred bones of common soldiers.

Five – Six _ Seven _ Eight

My every movement is measured and careful following a tradition begun more than Seventy-five years ago.

Nine - Ten – Eleven – Twelve

My proudest achievement is that wreath I am honored to wear that identifies me as one of the 525 men who have walked their post on these hallowed grounds.

Thirteen – Fourteen – Fifteen – Sixteen

Twenty-Four Hours a day, 365 days a year we walk this post.

Seventeen – Eighteen – Nineteen – Twenty

Unwavering through all circumstances. Unflinching in any situation. A continuous, uninterrupted vigil.

Twenty-One, Left Face and face the Tomb

When is an old piece of furniture past Saving?

The I found this piece in the basement of a home in Kansas City. The firm I was working for at the time had been called by a lady to pick up a dining room set and when I arrived I found the family trying to clean out the home of their mother who had passed away.

Her husband asked us to help him carry this old “bench” out of the basement. Once we got all the old cans of motor oil and paint out of the drawers and the chest out into the sunlight I realized There was  something special here under all the decades of abuse.

Closer Inspection can give you hints to what lies hidden.

A closer look revealed some interesting facts:

1.     Under the nailed on plywood top the original top only covered the front half of the case.

2.     In the bottom drawer we found a set of three small drawers (Hankie Drawers) that exactly fit in the missing area of the top. Interesting?

3.     Also in the bottom drawer were four short feet with round pegs that matched the holes in the bottom corners of the chest. Most dressers don;t have feet and when they do they are attached in a permanet fashion. These were clearly meant to be removed, but why?

4.     The drawers are hand dovetailed and though every drawer was missing a part all of the drawer fronts were still there.That's a good thing reproducing the sides, back and bottom of a drawer is relatively simple. Making a new front to match the old ones could have been the end of this project.

5.     There was some veneer missing in several places and it was thicker than modern veneers so replacing those bits was going to be a challenge.Over time the art of slicing veneer has been refined a great deal so the older the veneer the thicker and this stufff was almost 1/8" thick so VERY OLD STUFF.

6.     Then, underneath all those decades of abuse we discover that the veneer is real Mahogany. When I refer to it as REAL Mahogany it is because original Mahogany is very rare. Most of those original logs came from Africa or South America and it has been illegal to import those endangered logs into the United States for decades.

So, what we have here is soemthing special even though it has had a tough life recently. Given what I knew about the piece I did some research.  Chests made in this fashion and with the characteristics I was seeing date the piece as being made before 1860. But those removable feet I discover mean it was made as a "Wagon Chest", meaning it was designed to sit inside a covered wagon  and when you reached your new home you took it out, put the feet back on and it was once again the corret height for a dresser. This one wasn't just a  Wagon Chest though, becuase with those hankie drawers and Mahogany Veneer this one was a Cadillac.

We begin by making as many of the repairs as possible.

  The bottom frame of the chest is completely replaced with solid Phillipine Mahoganyy which is close to the original because finding matching veneer that would match was impossible.

 Each drawer is rebuilt using material as close to original as possible. This includes planning some lumber down to match the thickness of the originals. When this chest was made wood was planned to thickness by hand, consequenetly it is thicker than todays modern lumber which is surfaced by huge machines.

  The Hankie Drawers are refitted in their original positions and repairs made to them. Thankfully they are in good condition.

Everything is stripped to remove over 100 years of oil, grease, odd dollops of paint, grime, and any finish that might still be on the piece. This piece had been her father's "workbench" for as long as anyone could remember

The whole piece is then reassembled and any new repairs revealed by the stripping process are completed. Once all the "gunk" is off an old piece it is not unusualy to discover that soem of the interior framing is not as solid as it once was.

 Then everything is stained, blending any new wood with the old and three coats of a clear satin lacquer are applied. This sounds so simple when in reality this part of teh job takes longer than all the rest of it combined.

Now, If you recall, This piece was being carried out to the curb for disposal. I had suggested it deserved a closer look to the lady's husband and he had agreed that it might be worth saving. The piece was completed and he stopped into the shop to see it and pay the bill. I delieverd the completed chest of drawers with a photo set of the process on December 20th. The lady who had watched her father fix stuff on that "bench" for decades couldn't believe it was the same piece.

Sometimes it's not about the money. Sometimes it's about the history.
Well made furniture will always be fixable if someone can see the potential and can afford the time it takes to make it happen.

Introduction

Tom Reagor

Shared publicly  -  May 13, 2013

I've been fairly internet savy for one of the "older" generation and I subscribe to several blogs about things that interest me but never felt I had the time to blog myself nor the burning desire to share my thougts with anyone outside my immediate family. Now it seems school work demands I become a blogger regardless of my personal preferences. So over the next several weeks I will be posting here two or three times a week about things great and small that are of some passing interest to me.

If you are expecting to learn things about me personally or those things that are of importance to my family and my life then you will be sadly disappointed. I am not interested in sharing family laundry or delving into the inner workings of my mind with the world. Those that know me know and those that don't know me don't need to.

Having said all that I do love to write so finding topics to ramble on about should be easy. Perhaps a discussion about Hope Chests and how they build themselves if you let them. Or maybe Orchids and why they aren't so difficult to grow as legend has made them out to be (see profile photos above).

Some of you might enjoy a walk through how to repair old furniture and why it truly is worth the trouble.  We shall just see what moves me during my quiet time at a keyboard. Might be interesting might be boring as hell but that's a risk you'll have to decide to take. Unless of course you're just here because you're in the class on wrtting plans and proposals too, then I'm afraid you're stuck the same as I am.

I've been fairly internet savy for one of the "older" generation and I subscribe to several blogs about things that interest me but never felt I had the time to blog myself nor the burning desire to share my thougts with anyone outside my immediate family.

Now it seems school work demands I become a blogger regardless of my personal preferences. So over the next several weeks I will be posting here two or three times a week about things great and small that are of some passing interest to me.

If you are expecting to learn things about me personally or those things that are of importance to my family and my life then you will be sadly disappointed. I am not interested in sharing family laundry or delving into the inner workings of my mind with the world. Those that know me know and those that don't know me don't need to.

Having said all that I do love to write so finding topics to ramble on about should be easy. Perhaps a discussion about Hope Chests and how they build themselves if you let them. Or maybe Orchids and why they aren't so difficult to grow as legend has made them out to be (see profile photos above).

Some of you might enjoy a walk through how to repair old furniture and why it truly is worth the trouble.  We shall just see what moves me during my quiet time at a keyboard. Might be interesting might be boring as hell but that's a risk you'll have to decide to take. Unless of course you're just here because you're in the class on writting plans and proposals too then I'm afriad you're stuck same as I am.