Monday, January 10, 2011

Visiting the Mississippi Gulf Coast Daylily Society

Hello Daylily Friends,

Early Saturday morning, January 8, Diana and I began our trip to go and visit the Mississippi Gulf Coast Daylily Society. Diana prepared sandwiches and refreshments, we got the car ready, and off we went down the interstate highway. Over the past 6 to 8 weeks I made so many changes in my slide show, that I needed to work on it during the trip. Even though it took us about six hours to reach Vancleave, Mississippi, it seemed like only a short time since I worked on my computer while Diana drove. I finally got the show finished, and then there we were, at the "Welcome Station" in Pascagoula, Mississippi. I took Diana's picture at the welcome sign, and I asked Diana why the welcome sign read: "Birthplace of America's Music"? Diana's reply, two words: "Elvis Pressley." Elvis, of course, was born in Tupelo, Mississippi.

Well, when we arrived in Vancleave we were promptly met by Tom Adams and by Dr. Wayne McLaurin who helped us bring in the daylilies that we had brought for the Club auction. We then met Ms. Bonnie Lingel, who invited us to come and visit with the Club, and then Bonnie introduced us to Ms. C. P. Winters, the Club's President. Diana and I were excited to see the famous Bill Robinson for whom a beautiful daylily was named. We met Bill many years ago while riding in a Limousine with him to the hotel at an AHS National Convention in the great State of Michigan. We were also fortunate to meet other members of the Club for whom daylilies are named, including Edd Chain, Tom and Pat Adams, and Edna Shaw. I was particularly pleased to meet Chris Rea, a young man from Moss Point, Mississippi, who is doing outstanding work as a hybridizer. He has done very well using many daylilies, but I particularly noticed the new orange daylilies that created by using Trimmer's ORANGE BLOSSOM TRAIL. Chris has a bright future ahead of him.

After meeting the Club members, and after presenting our Show, we were then privileged to be taken by the Club to a "Catfish Dinner Palace." We sat and talked and talked and talked, about daylilies. I understood from dinner conversation that Tom and Pat Adams, Dr. Wayne and Sylvia McLaurin, C. P. Winters, and Bonnie Lingel, all intend to attend our Region 5 Regional Meeting here in Marietta, Georgia, on June 10-12, 2011. It will be so much fun; I'm really excited about the Conference, but I will write more about the Conference in a few weeks. The catfish, shrimp, cole slaw and sweet Mississippi Iced Tea were just wonderful. Then I heard music in the restaurant, and it turned out that we were being treated to music by a local band. In fact, I'm showing a picture of the band as it performed. We soon had to say goodbye to everyone, and drive to the Hampton Inn Hotel to spend the evening.

On Sunday morning we were up early, and had a wonderful Hampton Inn breakfast. We knew from the news reports that moisture was moving north from the Gulf of Mexico that was set to collide with cold air coming south from Minnesota. Surprisingly, we did not encounter even one raindrop on the way home. When we arrived back an our house our cat Sammy was glad that we were home. Sammy had a short run around the yard, then then he had a wonderful supper. We kept watching the TV news reports because we knew the storm was coming. Then, around 9:00 p.m., the snow came. It covered everything. I went outside this morning and took a picture of the front of the house. White, white, beautiful white, everywhere! Then I walked back toward the Greenhouse to see the garden. More beautiful snow! I took a picture looking toward the Greenhouse. I like this snow, but I'm ready now for spring. We had a lot of snow on Christmas day, and now 16 days later, another winter snow. Sammy doesn't like the snow; he has difficulty walking in it, and he doesn't like the snow on his fur.

Today I obviously cannot go to the office and work on any of my legal cases, so, I'm staying home, and I'm going to work on my website.

Thanks to the Mississippi Gulf Coast Daylily Society for having us come to visit.

Bill

4 comments:

  1. Gee, Bill, your home looks like it's here in the mountains of East Tennessee! You have as much snow as we do today. Stay warm.
    Linda Hassler

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  2. Oh Linda,
    I feel as though we could be in Minnesota where all the cold weather came from that brought about this deep, deep snow. We are staying warm, and I'm just hoping that the frozen rain will not disturb our electricity. I don't want any disturbance in the Greenhouse where everything is doing very well. Speaking of the Greenhouse, I have found that a minimum of 40 degrees is sufficient to cause the dormants to totally reverse. I'm really looking forward to turning up the heat at the end of the month. Hope to see you at the MWS.
    Bill

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  3. Bill,

    Snow is pretty if you don't live in Ohio, because we have to look at it for 3 months usually. Driving in it is no picnic either. We had a thaw recently where all our snow melted and for about 3 days it was green.....then the temps dropped and it was back to winter. We live too close to Lake Erie and the lake effect snow machine kicks in whenever the winds blow north over the lake. My fellow hybridizer Curt Hanson, said the snow pack is good for the daylilies. Keeps them from heaving out of the ground, which sometimes happens during freezing and thawing temperatures. Looks like you had fun meeting new people. Good stuff. Someday, I hope to have more time to travel. All in good time.

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  4. Hi Paul,
    Well my truck is a GMC 4-wheel drive. This afternoon I cleared the snow and ice from the truck, and slowly tried the nearby roads. Icy, but the slow drive was not too bad with my 4-wheel drive. I agree with Curt that the cold weather is good for daylilies. I intend to continue to cross the weaker with the stronger dormants. Indeed, Diana and I did have a delightful adventure in going to the Mississippi Gulf Coast Daylily Society. Visiting with the local clubs is at the top of the list for fun events for a hybridizer. I feel that I have come to know so many daylily friends that visiting almost any Club is like a "homecoming." I also like the visits because everybody wants to talk about the one subject that I like the most: daylilies!
    Bill

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