Hampton Court Palace

Was reading Growing with Plants today and the post was about a trip to The Lyman Estate in MA and he had included pictures of "The Grapery", a greenhouse with 200 year old grape vines which were sourced from the Royal Greenhouses at Hampton Court Palace. My first thought was, Hey what makes Mr. Lyman so special that he can nip off with Royal Grape Cuttings and I can't and the second was, Hey I was there.

Historic Royal Palace - Official Hampton Court Home Page

We visited in January 2005, a quick half hour rail ride from Waterloo Station London. There are a few shops near the train station, which is not far from the Palace. Just over a small bridge over the Thames.

 

The Great Vine in the greenhouse at Hampton Court Palace. This page discusses the extensive work required to keep the vine, planted in 1768, alive and producing.

 

I can't believe those 2 hooligans just knocked over the plants and kept on walking. I was going to say something, but was busy poaching some Royal Grape Vine cuttings.

 

A Sunny Winter's day in London.

 

The gardens were very nice and well maintained. There was not much in bloom, so a return trip is warranted. The trip is worth it just to see the interior of the Palace, don't miss the kitchens or the Great Hall. Mr. Mattus also had photos of the Lyman's greenhouses surrounded by snow, which prompted the following. One of my family's greenhouses (#6 for those in the know)

 

If you want to be in the know, you can look here. I wonder what poor cog had to shovel all that snow away.

Archtop

Archtops are hollow body or semi hollow body acoustic guitars with F-holes and having a back and top which are curved like a cello, pickups are optional. Here are a bunch of Archtop guitars in the $400 to $800 range. These are affordable in my book. I have seen some other Archtops which go for what I would pay for a car, not affordable in my book.

I am looking for something to play some jazzy tunes on around the house. Always wanted an archtop since my seeing and hearing some of my guitar teacher's guitars. These first bunch have a Venetian cutaway (rounded lobe), while the second batch sport a Florentine cutaway (pointy lobe).

 

Gretsch G100CE, Spruce top with maple back and sides, rosewood fretboard and bridge. I like the matte finish and the simplicity of the design. The body is 16" at its widest and 2.75 inches in depth. 25.5" scale and 20 frets.

 

Epiphone Emperor Regent, spruce top, maple back and sides, rosewood bridge. Scale length 25.5" and 20 frets. Not bad looking, a nice clean design, but I don't like the gold hardware. It also comes in an antique sunburst finish, but prefer the natural.

 

 

2 Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor IIs, same construction as the Emperor Regent, but with a 24.75" scale for 20 frets and 2 pickups. Starting to look busy.

 

Washburn J5, maple top/back/sides, rosewood fretboard and bridge. What a hideous tail piece. Too much gold and I don't much like the color. I hope I don't like the way it plays.

 

 

2 Ibanez AF75s, the blue is not a current model, too bad. The red is OK. It also comes in orange and brown sunburst neither of which get my vote. All maple construction, adjustable metal bridge, 24.75" scale and 22 frets.

 

Ibanez AF95, flamed maple top/back/sides and gold hardware otherwise similar to the AF75.

 

Washburn J3, the first of the Florentine cutaway models. Same construction as the Washburn J5, but with silver hardware. To me it makes the Big "dubya" tailpiece less offensive. It also comes in a natural finish, but that seems hard to find.

 

Washburn HB15C, mahogany top/back/sides, rosewood bridge, 24.75" scale, 20 frets. I like the basic look, but for some reason it looks cheap.

 

Ibanez AK80, spruce top, flamed maple back and sides, rosewood bridge, 24.75" scale, 20 frets. I like the look of it even though I prefer the Venetian cutaway and don't like the color that much. I would probably ditch the pickguard, the black should probably only be on the lower edge. Also not sure about the location of the pickup selector.

 

Epiphone ES-175 re-issue, all maple construction, 24.75" scale, 20 frets, adjustable bridge and some cheap looking wacky tailpiece.

Now I just have to locate some of these guitars and give them a try.

Evolution of Rock

"1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty with no rocks, darkness was over the surface of the deep where there were also no rocks, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the rock-less waters. Yadda, Yadda, Yadda, 31 God saw all that he had made, there were no rocks and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day."*

February 2009 to Present

3 Rocks. Note, neither the car blocking my driveway nor the piece of furniture in my driveway are mine.

 

4 Rocks. As an aside this is Arborcide #1

 

8 Rocks. Sometimes they are well behaved.

 

9 Rocks. And sometimes they are not.

 

11 Rocks. Where ever do they come from.

 

Arborcide #2, sorry I thought there were rocks in this shot. The tree had just been planted earlier that day.

 

14 rocks and now some concrete.

 

The rocks were hidden by snow for quite a few weeks which was pleasant, but now they're back, oh how I missed them.

NYC Parks Dept Tree Killing info

It is illegal and punishable by law for citizens to remove, kill, or damage a street or park tree, whether intentionally or accidentally. No one is allowed to perform any work on a tree unless they are employed by Parks or are under a pruning or removal contract with Parks. Certified Citizen Pruners, who are trained to do light tree pruning by Trees New York, are authorized by the city to prune small branches that can be reached from the ground. Any Citizen Pruner who performs tree work outside of these guidelines is subject to arrest and fine. Anyone caught removing or otherwise harming a tree should be reported immediately. Call 311 to notify an officer.

Illegal Tree Work

It is illegal and punishable by law for citizens to damage, destroy, perform unauthorized tree work or otherwise harm a street tree or park tree. No work may be performed on or within 50 feet of a street tree without a Tree Work Permit from Parks. Unpermitted work can lead to serious tree damage. Anyone caught removing or otherwise harming a tree should be reported immediately. Violations are misdemeanors punishable by a fine not to exceed $15,000 and/or imprisonment for up to one year. To report illegal tree damage, call 311 or use our forestry service request system. Only Parks and contractors hired by Parks are allowed to remove trees. Any citizen caught removing a living tree will be charged with arborcide and penalized severely. For more information please see the Tree Damage and Arborcide page.

Note - Damage was reported, photographic evidence was provided and nobody went to the Big House. I am guessing that there was no severe punishment either.

* - Work attributed to God with poor translations from the ancient Aramaic by Brother Keith of Wortentstellen Abbey.

First Flower of 2011

Snow Drops

 

 

I planted a Witch Hazel which is supposed to bloom early and smell nice, but it hasn't so it doesn't. And my cyclamen from last fall never bloomed either, the Meyers lemon has never shown the slightest hint of a bud and the main plant of our hardy banana ain't so hardy, in fact it's dead. I hope this isn't a harbinger for the year ahead. And now for some obligatory "OMG look at how much snow I have" pictures. Lilac Corner unimproved

 

Lilac Corner improving

 

Lilac Corner some snow

 

Lilac Corner with lots of snow. The blue tubs are there somewhere. If we had had more snow I don't know where we would have put it.