Queen of the Night 2014

At 4 AM July 2nd there were 20 open blooms. 

July 3rd there were 6 more.

Each bloom is 14 to 15 inches long and 7 inches across

The Queen only shows her beauty after the sun goes down. 

And only  July -September

6 AM and 4 AM

See the difference in the 4 AM blooms, taken with flash at 4 AM.. they droop when the sun hits them.

The blooms hang in a giant bridal boquet maybe 25 feet long. 

I post these every year, to see past years CLICK HERE

The tree is covered in blooms, I have to shoot through the pine branches.

October Harvest - Florida

One fine October morn, I stood staring up into the pine, watching the sun paint the limbs...

BOB! LOOK! 14 blooms. In 24 years we have never had night blooming cactus blooms after Sept 5th. the first two week of October, we had 14 and 10 the next day.
We think these late blooms are due to the wettest July in our history and the hottest October in our history...

While staring up at the blooms, my camera found something else... to be continued

Night Blooming Cactus in Stages

top right square is Wed at 3 PM I counted the buds that looked like they would bloom that night, took a photo at 3 pm, again at 8 and it was just about to pop... since we go to bed so early, I got the bloom at 7 am on Thursday.

Above 3 buds about to POP in the evening and 3 AFTER the POP... We had 48 blooms today, and 2 days before 20... they just amaze me so much I have to show them over and over. these are my first photos of them about to bloom

 Shooting straight up over my head is hard.

Cereus chalybaeus Re-Post 9/21/09

Every new day brings new reasons to praise God. With each dawn, the wonders of creation and God's grace are evident anew

Mark 1:35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed

Psalm 30:5 Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

God's faithfulness in on display every single day. Every new morning is a gift from God, and a sign of His eternal presence

Excerpt from the poem, The Secret, by Ralph S.Cushman

I met God in the morning,

When my day was at its best,

And his presence came like sunrise,

Like a glory in my breast.

So I think I know the secret,

Learned from many a troubled way:

You must seek him in the morning

If you want him through the day!

Cereus chalybaeus Re-Post 9/19/09

Cereus chalybaeus (named from Greek/Latin signifying A Torch) also known as Columnar Cacti

My favorite name, one of many is Moonlight Cactus

These blooms can only be seen in full dark, the moment the sun comes up, they start to close. These pictures are from a neighbors house. It is very difficult to take pictures of them in the dark.

Click on photo to see the tiny details of this wonderful plant. It thrives in desert or tropical or semi-tropical, like Florida

The difference in this Moonlight Cactus and my Queen Of the Night: Moonlight is a column and Queen is a vine.

I took this at 5 AM. I tried to count the blooms, there were so many, it was difficult, I counted over 100 on the one plant. It was hard to count thinking the neighbor might come out and shoot me thinking I was an intruder. I mean WHO takes photos at 5 AM? I DO

This bud is ready to open the next night.

These are the fruit that grows on the cactus.

The fruit is pretty, like Christmas balls hanging on the cactus. I have been unable to find info on whether it is edible. My Queen of the Night has never had fruit, but it should.

Night Blooming Cactus

Sunday morning, July 14, 2013 we woke up to 48 blooms, hanging 3 stories high in the air, covering the top of the pine tree like a giant bridal bouquet. Every year July through September, I promise myself No More Pics of these magnificent blooms.

I can't help myself, even though I have to attempt to get them in the dark. They are 15 inches tall and 8 inches across...

They hang in groups of two to seven to 5 on a frond... they are only in the tip top of the tree and require me to lean on the fence and look straight up over my head, which is hard to hold the camera still.

if you missed my other TEN post on these flowers... Click HERE

Backyard in July #1

Our beloved tree is gone, but it left behind this view from the side yard.

Did you know my favorite exercise is Chewing?

Night blooming cactus bloomed Saturday, 6 blooms and 20 more ready for tomorrow... We are looking UP UP UP. these are 30 feet in the air...

Sunday AM UPDATE: this post was on auto post, got up today and there are 49 of these blooms hanging in the tree like a giant bridal bouquet...

above and below are the same photo, I took it in the dark with flash, below I lightened it so you can see the details.

Night Blooms are BACK

 For 5 days we stared three stories up into our pine tree, watching a night blooming cactus bud, waiting for it to burst. Thursday AM I almost missed the 3  blooms.... The sun was to high, but I did manage these.

I have posted 8 different times on this flower, so will Spare you the story. If you missed it and want to see more click on NIGHT BLOOMING CACTUS 

I go to Wal-Mart so much that one morning we were out for breakfast at Golden Corral, and as I walked up to the buffet, a 6 foot tall Older Santa man gave me a big hug... Bob said who was that?
I said the Wal-Mart greeter.... he just shook his head. My answer to the head shake was, I feel like I know him, we talk every Saturday early AM...for many years...

Queen of the Night, God's Amazing Art

 August 2, 2012 , the droopy thingy is the one that bloomed the night before, both above and below

July 31 2012

 I snapped the triplets the evening before because I knew they would bloom that night. The next morning at 4 AM I snapped the shot below while holding a flashlight, All By MySelf... no hubby holding it.

Above with God's Sunlight, Below with Bob's Flashlight....

Same triplets August 1 2012

the tree they live in is about 3 stories high.