I apologize for the complainy post last week and thank you for the good wishes for my knee!
My knee, however, is fine and dandy. Using it for years when it was not right, my back and hip accommodated themselves to the way I walked. After the knee was replaced my walk changed and my back and hip rebelled. So they are being coaxed and wrestled back into the right place by a physical therapist and the muscles built up to keep things the way they should be.
(Probably not the exact terms the doctor used to explain it, but that is the gist of it.)
Struggle of a Champion - D. Pierce Giltner, Bluffton, SC “The hard life of a third generation oysterman working the tides of the May River.” Doesn’t it look like a photo? It’s a painting! —Artfields 2021
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You probably always thought this drink was a mimosa — a popular breakfast cocktail made from sparkling wine and citrus juice that some say was created by Alfred Hitchcock in the 1940s.
You are excused for thinking that if you’re not from the South.
Actually, a mimosa was first an ornamental tree, brought to Charleston, South Carolina, in 1785 by the famous French botanist, Andre Michaud. (Nobody seems sure how the name got attached to the drink.)
Wealthy mistresses of the Southern plantations, always looking for something exotic to one-up their neighbors’ gardens, eagerly snapped up the latest import from Asia for their lawns.
It’s peak bloom for the mimosas right now and because they are fast-growing, self-spreading, and not too fussy about their location, they appear everywhere around older houses and along the highways and country roads.
A few fun facts:
#Because its fern-like leaves fold up at night, it is called the Sleeping Tree in Japan.
# They are an understory tree with a unique flat-top appearance and grow to be only 30 feet tall or less.
#Bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies love them.
#The long red tubes of the flower are not petals but stamens.
#Some dislike them intensely because of their propensity to spread everywhere and because their large seed pods are plentiful and a pain to clean up.
I, however, am a big fan of their feathery and exotic blooms.
Too bad they only last half a day in the house.
We had mimosa trees when I lived in the Philippines where my parents were missionaries. When we moved to a home in Kensington, MD when I was in third grade I was pleased to see a mimosa tree in the yard. We loved to climb it (and broke many branches.). I don't think mimosa trees would survive here in NH. They were considered invasive in MD but over the years fewer and fewer were seen roadside overtaken by Bradford pear and other invasives.
ReplyDeleteWe have monkey pod trees in Hawaii with the same sort of flowers. They must be in the same family, perhaps.
ReplyDeleteGood to know that your knee is on the mend.
ReplyDeleteThat painting sure does look like a photograph.
Re; Your mimosa tree.
We have them here - here is the story/history.
"Acacia dealbata, the silver wattle, blue wattle or mimosa, is a species of flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae, native to southeastern Australia in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory and widely introduced in Mediterranean, warm temperate, and highland tropical landscapes."
Here in Terrigal there are plenty of them to be seen in gardens etc.
Cheers
Colin
The mimosa tree in the backyard of my Little Rock, AR childhood home was the first tree I fell out of. I was not a good tree climber.
ReplyDeleteWell what a beautiful tree and flowers.
ReplyDeleteWell at least a day is better than no day at all.
Good to hear you are improving with your back and so on.
Take care.
There's one across the cul de sac from me ( suburb of Kansas City)...since the owner has someone to do all his lawn work, the seeds aren't a problem for him...lol! Thanks for giving a name to it ...
ReplyDeleteIt looks a beautiful tree. I love flowering trees. We have a similar flower but it has different leaves.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly looks like a beautiful tree, I love the feathery leafage. So sorry to hear about your back and hips, hoping the therapy will help. Take care.
ReplyDeleteIf I have previously seen a mimosa tree I have forgotten it, but it seems unlikely that I would have, so I am probably seeing it for the first time, and very beautiful it is too. The last time I had a mimosa at breakfast was about four years ago when my daughter was visiting and we were invited out for breakfast to a friend's garden where it was all set up beautifully. I hope you have great success getting your body realigned with your new knee and are soon playing hopscotch on the street!
ReplyDeleteMimosa tree's are very pretty. We have tried several times to dig up a starter tree and replant them in the yard with no luck.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen a mimosa, neither drink nor tree, before. The flowers are so beautiful and unusual looking. This is what makes blogging so much fun, learning about new things.
ReplyDeleteHemroso arboles y bellas flores. Te mando un beso y cuidate de la rodilla
ReplyDeleteEnamorada de las letras
I love them too. When I was a young girl I played with the ferns and flowers and spent hours outside under that tree. They are one of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteThey are lovely blooms! Hope your PT is working!!
ReplyDeleteWow! What a wonderful painting. I also thought it was a photo. There is a yellow mimosa after which the drink was named simply for its color. Wow...that brings back a memory. The last time I had a mimosa was decades ago. A high school classmate of mine and I met at the old Radisson overlooking the Mississippi River in St. Paul. We met for early brunch and had mimoss. We chatted and sipped mimosas so long that they closed the resstaurant from the brunch, cleaned up all around us reset for dinnner and then reopended. They didn't mind that we stayed. We didn't sit in the carousel part of the Radisson, but were still in the top floor restaurant. I didn't think your post was complainy, but I'm glad your knee is okay.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'll be! Ya learn something new frequently!~ And hi!~ I think I'm back to blogging. LOL
ReplyDeleteFabulous post
ReplyDelete