The "Orchid Extravaganza: Part 2" Story

Longwood Gardens Conservatory

It was an ordinary day.  Walking through what seems to be a labyrinth of rooms filled with the most magnificent smells on earth.  One room after another displays all the colors of the rainbow inside the four acre Conservatory of Longwood Gardens.  Yesterday I gave you a general overview of the gardens that Mr. and Mrs. Pierre S. du Pont established in 1921.  "The perpetual Eden", as it has been called, is featuring nearly 5,000 orchids in arrangements and forms including Longwood's largest-ever orchid baskets.  After entering into the East Conservatory we began our walk through over a dozen Passages, Gardens and Houses, all temperature controlled with flowers from around the globe on display.  

Baskets and planters filled with orchids

The easiest way to tell you about the variety of blooms is through the lens of my camera.  I have over 300 photos of different types of plants, trees, shrubs and bushes, but have selected about 1/10 of those to show to you.  Hope you enjoy them as much as Carol and I did during or three-hour journey through the Garden of Eden.  The only thing missing from my story today will be the glorious fragrance that emanates from the Conservatory.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.   PS - Today's photographs are only of orchids.  Tomorrow's final edition of my story on Longwood Gardens will be photos of other species of plants. Remember to click on the photographs to enlarge them. Also, I attempted to list the name of the orchid, but may not have picked out the correct information from the plaque listed with each orchid.

Austral Gem 

Laos

Lester McDonald

Miltoniopsis

Orange Glory

Unnamed

Unnamed

Unnamed

Unnamed

Unnamed

Boat Orchid

Dendrobium

Pleone

Jewel Box 

Fire Dance

Multiple plantings in a large basket by the entrance

The "Orchid Extravaganza: Part 1" Story

This display of orchids is in the hallway
leading to the entrance to the grounds
of  Longwood Gardens.

It was an ordinary day.  Pulled into the parking lot at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania after the trip from Lancaster that took slightly under an hour.  Beautiful day with temperatures in the low 50s and no breeze at all.  A few weeks ago Carol saw a small story in the local newspaper telling about the Orchid Extravaganza and she expressed an interest in going to see the more than 5,000 orchid plants that are featured in the show.  Quite a few thousand more than grace the living room in our Beach House.  The extravaganza covers the four acre Conservatory that was established in 1919 by Mr. Pierre S. du Pont.  Today the Longwood Gardens consists of 1,077 acres which consists of 20 outdoor gardens and 20 indoor gardens with the four acre Conservatory the jewel of the Gardens.  

This is the impressive view as you enter the Conservatory.

We have visited the beautiful grounds twice before, once in the summer and once during the Christmas season a few years ago.  Both times were special to us so we knew we needed to make another trip before the end of March when the current program ends.  My multi-day story begins today with an overview of the Conservatory followed by a day of orchid photography and another day of flowers of the Conservatory.  

The Longwood Gardens 10,010 pipe organ.

It was a real treat to walk the beautiful grounds of the Conser- vatory, smelling the fragrance emanating from the plants and horticulture from one of the premier botanical gardens in the United States if not the world.  As we wandered parts of the Conservatory we were serenaded by the 10,010 pipe Longwood Organ which was installed in 1929.  We had the chance to walk through the hallway behind the organ and see the huge pipes that give the organ it's fantastic sound.  Follow along as my camera documents the sights of Longwood Gardens Conservatory.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - click on photos to enlarge.

Some of the many pipes that make the magnificent sound that emanates  throughout parts of the Conservatory.

Colorful plantings such as this one fill the 4 acres of the Conservatory.

Another greenhouse in the Conservatory.

This greenhouse hold the tropical plantings.

One of the many waterfalls that fill the Conservatory.

Another waterfall with platings.

Walkway filled with flowers of all colors.

Large pillars begin the pond that has "trees" of orchids in the foreground and hanging baskets of orchids overhead. 

Another greenhouse filled with flowers.

Bonsai is an ancient art of growing plants in containers to represent mature plants found in nature.  It originated in China and was furthered in Japan.  The display at Longwood Gardens is housed in a hallway and consists of over 40 specimens.  Each specimen is marked with a date that signifies the year the training began on the specimen.  This particular specimen impressed me since it was begun in 1944 making it the same age as me.

The "Pierce-du Pont House" Story

The Pierce-du Pont home at Longwood Gardens

It was a ordinary day.  Standing in the pantry of the Pierce-du Pont house situated on the 402 acres of garden, woodlands and meadows known as Longwood Gardens in Kenneth Square, Pennsylvania.  Starring at the immense safe that holds the silverware and crystal collection of Mr. and Mrs. Pierre S. du  Pont.  

The entrance from the side of the house
is through the garden area

The house was built in 1730 by Mr. Joshua Peirce and was enlarged a few times by future generations of the Peirce family as well as by Mr. du Pont who purchased the property in 1906.  The property, now known as Longwood Gardens was home to the Lenni Lenape Native Americans for thousands of years.  

Mr. Pierre du Pont's office

They hunted the land, fished the streams and planted the fields.  In 1700 Mr. George Peirce purchased the 402 acres from William Penn's commiss- ioners.  It was George's son Joshua that built the brick farmhouse that we are now standing in.  In 1798 Joshua's twin grandsons began planting an arboretum with wild and purchased plants.  

A sitting room

The land soon became known as Peirce's Park.  Eventually the Pierce family lost interest in the land and it was sold several times until a lumber mill purchased the land for the trees.  On July 20, 1906 Pierre du Pont purchased the land to preserve the trees, and eventually began to transform the property for a place to entertain his friends.  Today Longwood Gardens conservatory, built starting in 1919 is one of the world's greatest greenhouse structures with 5,500 types of plants. The house we are self-touring has a wealth of history spread throughout it's walls and has many displays that allow you to view and read about the house.  The photos I have posted, with some dialogue, will help you see the uniqueness of this beautiful house known as the Pierce-du Pont house.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The pantry safe, sitting on the right of the photo, holds the silverware and crystal collection

A poster displayed tells about a visit from John Phillip Sousa and his band in 1930 

Pierre du Pont and John Phillip Sousa

Winding stairwell in the Pierce-du Pont House

The "The Stars of the Show" Story

The John Durang Museum in the "Hole in the Wall Puppet Theatre."

It was an ordinary day.  Standing in the John Durang Museum at 126 North Water Street in historic downtown Lancaster, Pennsyl-
vania looking at all the puppets and marionettes that fill most of the usable wall space in the museum.  John Durang was born a short distance away from the museum that bears his name.  

A marionette of John Durang holding
two marionettes.

Mr. Durang was one of country's first actors, dancers, clowns, musicians, acrobats, choreographers and puppeteers.  The museum is housed in the quaint little "Hole in the Wall Puppet Theatre" that was established in 1990 by my friend Rob Brock.  The 1850 building that houses the theatre and museum was built as a private residence, but eventually became a blacksmith shop and an office building before becoming the "Hole in the Wall Puppet Theatre".  My mission today was to see how Rob makes his marionettes that he uses in his performances at the theatre.  My visit today is during one of Rob's scheduled performances for his current "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" show.  Rob showed his guests today the procedure for making the marionettes that are used for his shows.  

Modeled clay heads are shown along with a foot.  The white
head on the right is the final result which is a resin casting
made using the clay head that Rob made.

He first uses Chavant DaVinci Plastiline modeling clay to shape the head for the marion- ette, then makes a mold of the clay head using a mixture of silicone.  When the silicone has cured, he cuts it apart and removes the clay.  Into the silicone mold he pours resin which when dry will form his marionette's head.  

Rob is holding the silicone casting made
from his original clay sculpture.

Feet can be made in the same manner if they are needed.  The head is painted with acrylic paints, hair is added and clothes are sewn.  The body is made primarily from wooden dowels with metal joints added for motion.  Then the strings are added to the moving parts of the marionette and attached to the wooden control.  Rob uses his trusty Singer sewing machine to make his costumes from cotton, felt, fur, wool, burlap and brocade.  Most of his marionettes take between 50 to 60 hours to make.  I got to stand backstage as he performed with the four marionettes needed for "Here Comes Peter Cottontail".  

This backstage photo shows Rob
operating one of his marionettes
for the audience.  He dresses in black
so he doesn't interfere with the performance
of the marionettes who are the stars of the show.

Rob is as animated as his performers as he moves from one marionette to the next to create an entertaining performance for the crowd seated in his theatre that is adorned with mirrors, velvet chairs, overhead cherubs and flickering wall sconces creating a 19th century appearance.  His 35 minute performance was well-received by both the children and the adults that filled the tiered seating, but the real stars of the show were the hand-made marionettes that captured all the attention of the audience.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - Click on photos to see a larger version.

The "The More Goo and Icing ... the Better!" Story

Just Sue serving her sticky buns.

It was an ordinary day.  Visiting with our friends Jerry and Just Sue in State College and eating the best part of the meal Just Sue has prepared for us ... dessert.  Don't remember much about the main course, but I sure do remember the dessert.  The dessert today it is a rather unusual sticky bun that had a layer of apple as part of the topping.  Not sure if it would be classified as a real sticky bun, but to me it was and I should know since I have eaten many a sticky bun in my lifetime.  The sticky bun came into being in the Middle Ages when cinnamon became available to the average homemaker.  Then in the 1700's  German settlers brought their sticky bun recipe to the new world.  They settled northwest of Philadelphia in an area known as Germantown in the early 18th century and their sticky buns were known as "Schnecken."  

Good looking sticky buns!

The Pennsylvania Dutch was a cultural group formed by these early German speaking immigrants.  The Pennsylvania Dutch were mostly Lutheran and Reformed, but also Anabaptists who promoted a simple lifestyle.  The Anabaptists were also known as Plain people and in the area of Pennsylvania where I live they were either Old Order Mennonite or Old Order Amish.  And, can they bake a mean sticky bun.  Our local road-side markets as well as Lancaster's Central Market are laden with their sticky bun concoctions and I have tried many of them.  I love regular sticky buns, raisin sticky buns, sticky buns with extra goo .... get the idea.  

Sticky buns with a light coating of white icing.  I would
definitely need much more on my sticky bun.

At the end of last summer Carol and I made a visit to State College and spent an evening with Jerry and Just Sue at the Grange Fair in Centre County.  Had a fantastic large sticky bun that was covered with white icing.  If that wasn't enough, I asked for a cup of extra icing to pour over it.  And, of course, I had it with a cup of milk for dunking.  I'm sure everyone has their favorite recipe for making the sugary treat and also has their favorite place to buy them, but for me .... I enjoy just about any sticky bun from the one at the Cinnabon stand in the mall to the one sitting in front of me on Just Sue's dining room table.  And, she even knew to have a glass of milk for me.  Ah, dessert time now!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.   

The "Big Plane, Short Runway" Story

This is one of the shots I took of a 747 landing at SXM.  This is
a French airlines while the KLM is from Amsterdam.

It was an ordinary day.  Starting to make a list of things to do before we depart on our next trip to our home base in St. Martin.  Line up the pet sitters, line up the rental car, line up the park-and-fly location … and the list is growing.  Then I started another list of things to do during our visit to St. Martin.  Eat breakfast at the St. Maarten Yacht Club, eat lunch at Andy and Cheryl's on Orient Beach, eat supper at Le Piment in Orient Village, relax during the day in the sun on a lounger with my Kindle in my one hand and a beverage in the other, … and the list goes … well that's the list!  Oh, wait.  One more thing … make our yearly visit to the Sunset Bar and Grill to watch and photograph the huge planes landing over Maho Beach.  I have written and posted photos many times about this experience, since it is one of my all-time favorite things to do while on vacation.  You can't imagine the thrill of standing on the sand at Maho with a 747 plane coming toward you and flying so close over your head you swear you could reach out and touch it.  

This is a still photograph showing the KLM 747 just
touching down on the runway after crossing
Maho Beach in Sint Maarten.

The runway on the Dutch side of Sint Maarten/St. Martin (French side) is probably the most photo- graphed and challenging runways in the world.  If you check on YouTube you will find an astounding number of videos taken by amateur videographers of either a landing or a take-off of planes at the airport.  Some are pretty neat while others were taken by amateurs who were shaking in their bathing suits as the plane descended on them.  Well, one of the airlines that flies into SXM (Sint Maarten), and uses the huge 4-engine 747s, KLM airlines, hired professionals to capture what it is like to have to fly inches above the heads of people like me on sandy white Maho Beach.  And, someone emailed me the link to videographer/journalist Sebastian Knoops really neat recording of the entire flight from inside the cockpit with narration from the pilot and co-pilot.  Amazing!!  It is titled KLM Cockpit Tales: Part 3 - Big Plane, short runway.  I'm positive you'll enjoy it and will see why I just can't go to St. Martin with out my yearly fix at Sunset Bar and Grill.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "More Than Just HO, HO, HO" Story

Hand-made row houses which is where my friend Jerry lived when
he was a child.  You can see him playing in front of his house while
his bike sits along the curb in front of the Yellow Cab.

It was an ordinary day.  Standing in front of my childhood friend Jerry's home on Manheim Ave.  Place seems so much smaller than it did when I was a child.  Probably because it is 1:87 scale!  Yep, it really is that small, since I am standing in Jerry's basement looking at his HO train yard and his old home is part of the layout.  I wrote a story recently detailing Jerry's new addition to his train collection, a pair of diesel-electric engines, but his train yard is more, much more, than the trains that run on the nickel silver tracks.  

A Pennsylvania Railroad electric engine pulls out of
Lancaster Train Station on this HO train yard.

First, I should clear up what HO really means.  When I was a child my dad bought me a Lionel Train set for a Christmas gift when I was 10 years old.  Back in the 1950s "O" gauge miniature railroads, which was what the Lionel set was, were the rage, but in the 1960's HO began to challenge the market dominance of "O" gauge.  The HO designation came about since it's scale is about half that of "O" scale.  

Some of Jerry's many trays of supplies he uses on his train yard.

HO scale layouts are more suited for smaller spaces and tend to cost much less than the "O" scale layouts.  HO trains run on two-rail track which is powered by direct-current.  The locomotives, rolling stock (cars and carriages), buildings and scenery are made by quite a few manufactures in a variety of price brackets.  That being said, Jerry likes to make all his buildings as well as much of his scenery.  He has a few kit buildings which he bought, but most of his structures are hand-crafted such as the entire row of homes where he grew up in Lancaster, PA.  

The scene behind the trains is one of the few things on
Jerry's train yard that he didn't make himself. 

He buys materials to make these structures from hobby shops and catalogues.  He also uses items found in nature to help make his scenery for his train yard.  His entire catenary system (wires above the train tracks that are needed for  real electric engines) is hand-made and actually can be used to run his electric locomotives.  He currently is working on a few more buildings that surrounded his neighborhood near Manheim Ave. which was a block from my childhood home as well as a block from the Lancaster Train Station.  Could be where he began his lifelong love affair with trains.  I have included photos of some of my favorite parts of his train yard so you can see how detailed and realistic an HO scale train yard can be.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - click on photos to enlarge.

A car dealership under construction. 

Here a train passes by a church and under a covered bridge, all hand-made.

A woman hangs up wash while her children play nearby.

The old swimming hole.

Hand-made garage with a 1:87 scale red truck similar to Jerry's own real-life truck standing in front of the garage door.

Workers work on a new roof while another worker creates shingles under the porch.

Jerry's Circus has the elephants raising the Bigtop.

More elephants take a break in the shade.

A casting facility that was close to our homes.  It was leveled years ago, but brought back to life in Jerry's train yard. 

People wait for the train at Lancaster Train Station's platform #2.