Yes, Gabi, I agree, great article.
Mike

Congrats Gabi, I just read the article...great job!

Fantastic job with the article Gabi! By the way how was your vacation?

Mike

Awww..thanks guys! Means a lot to me. I was stunned to see my pic made the front cover!!! Very excited about that - and I love how Mark photoshopped it to make it look like a painting.

Mike, Alaska was AWESOME!!! Thanks for asking. The beauty there is indescribable, and I am so happy that I decided to experience it outdoors (I camped out in a tent all over Alaska for 2 weeks). Camping out in Alaska really makes you feel closer to the nature and beauty surrounding you, AND the wildlife...there was a black bear at our first campsite and a grizzly bear walked RIGHT by my tent at another campsite. But I'm still alive :) If anyone is looking for an awe-inspiring vacay and hasn't been to Alaska, I highly recommend it. You won't find any hoyas there though!

Mike, how was your vacation and how did your hoyas do?

Gabi

Ok camping I love and I do it for a few weeks each summer but we camp on islands so that there are no bears, not liking the idea of bears walking past the tent. There are usually cute little red squirrels on the islands and they like to chew holes in expensive dry bags etc in their search for food but I will put up with that in exchange for a bear free experience.

I have not finished working on the photos from my trip but I will eventually post them on my flickr site. I am sure you took oodles of photos, would love to see them if you are posting them online because I have never personally been to the Pacific coast. My trip was a success but much more stationary than usual because a friend was recovering from a car accident so there was little paddling and lots of lying around, swimming and exploring the island we choose for our home base. Being out in nature like that is one of my favorite things, nothing beats a night sky full of millions of stars.

A cloudy sunset captured using a purple tinted filter.

A classic shot of the tent lit up at night using a long exposure to capture the stars

Oh and before I forget the Hoyas did very well and there was new growth on some that had been idle for months. I guess the constantly moist but not wet environment provided by the capillary matting was a hit with the plants. I think I will add some tubing so that I can drain the trays easily and maybe make a few other adjustments but I was very impressed with the results.

Congratulations on the cover photo that's fantastic!

Mike

That is an excellent Write UP! I really enjoyed it! Now I just have to decide which ones I want to buy next .... hmmm thomsonii looks like a really nice one. I love the leaves!

Wow Mike - you are a true photographer! I can't match up to you, but I'm happy to show you some of my favorite pictures that I took in Alaska. These were taken with my Sony Cybershot point and shoot - 8.1 megapixels with a Carl Zeiss 10X optical zoom lens.

I have about 300 pics, so as you can see it's hard to pic out my favorites. But here they are...

Denali National Park:

Another:

Our first campsite, right by the river:

Black bear at that campsite. The one that walked by my tent was a grizzly - I'd take squirrels over bears anyday!

Walking on Kennicott Glacier (on a hike to go ice climbing, which was amazing):

Fishing boat surrounded by mountains - the mist helped with this picture! This was in Seward:

Seward:

Golden Eagle in the mountains:

Grandfather and grandaughter fishing together:

Grizzly bear in Denali:

Same grizzly approaching the truck behind us:

Humpback whale (tail flip) in Kenai Fjords:

Sea Lions:

Lake view (one of my favorites...I love the reflection):

Mount Redoubt (an active volcano by Homer):

Shadow of a bridge:

Sunset in McCarthy:

A lake in Hope:

I know that was a lot, but there is SO much beauty there...I had to pinch myself every second to make sure I wasn't dreaming!!

Mike, I'm glad your hoyas did well with your new invention! I guess they really liked it. Now you won't have any worries on future vacations - or maybe you will use it all year round?

Gabi

Absolutely amazing PHOTOS!!! Thank you both for sharing part of your vacation with all of us. Just beautiful!!

You both take excellent pictures!!

Gabi those are fantastic photos, makes me want to go to the mountains.

The Hoyas were very happy but the water in the trays was stagnant when I got back and my apartment had a not so nice odor. Next time I will add an aquarium pump and air stone to each tray to keep the water moving and maybe a few more adjustments. I am no longer afraid of spending two weeks away from my plants but I don't think I will use the large trays year around.

Mike

Thanks Pug!

Mike, glad you liked the photos. Oooh, I can only imagine the smell you came home to. But I would take that smell if it means coming home to new growth over ill plants! I know how worried you were, so you must've been thrilled that they thrived while you were gone - I guess absence does make the heart grow fonder! I'm sure you'll find a way to tweak the trays. Make sure you show us what changes you've made - I always find it interesting when someone can construct whatever ideas pop up in their head.

Gabi

Great photos you two. Looks like you both had the vacation of life.

Jan

Gabi Those photos are so unreal. It makes me want to go camping even though I hate camping LOL.

Cindy

Great job in Stemma, Gabi! I LOVE your lobbii!

It's hard to take a bad photo in Alaska, isn't it?

Kelly

Yes...there is no such thing as a bad photo from Alaska! Even if you have a throw-away camera!!

Thanks for the compliment re: article and lobbii :)

Gabi

Excellent photos, BOTH of you! Gabi, you've two in there (both reflections) that if I didn't have way too many hobbies already and were not making my own jewelry, I ask permission to paint from!!!

If you ever want the 'float' home experience, I have connections at Prince of Wales Island (nearest stateside land Ketchican), with an experienced hunting and fishing guide who lived on the float for some years. Dock trained eagles, who know when the fish cleaning station is being used. They come down for 'snackies' and repay by fetching right out of the air!

Gabi, you made me feel a little homesick. I lived in Anchorage for two years. There were a lot of things I didn't like about living there, but something about the place does get into your blood. And it is always amusing to walk to the grocery store and see a pile of moose poop on the sidewalk... it seriously looks like a pile of Hydroton or small stones. You'd think it wouldn't, a moose being such a large animal, but it really does. (Alaskans seem to be proud of moose poop, if the gift shops are any indication.) I definitely miss seeing the mountains every day. And the crisp air.

I also enjoyed your article. The only thing I didn't like about it is that you made me want yet more hoyas. Calycina and thomsonii are calling out my name, the lobbii is gorgeous, and I never wanted a multiflora before, but now I do! I dearly wish I had another good window...

Cena, whenever you have free time, you have my permission to paint any of those pictures...what an honor! But only if you take a picture of your painting so that I can see it!! One of my co-workers also asked if she can paint the lake picture (with the reflections of trees).

Quinn, Anchorage is such a beautiful city! The only thing that was weird about it is that it doesn't feel like Alaska (except when you see mountains in the background!). The phrase we were told that Alaskans use when they are in Anchorage is "I can't wait to get back to Alaska" - I just love that!! Anyway, we were in Anchorage for a bit, but mostly we were in the Denali area and in the Kenai/Seward/Homer area. Denali was my favorite. As for moose poop, I don't think there was a gift shop ANYWHERE in Alaska that didn't have those moose poop gifts...you are so right!! Glad you enjoyed the article - but yes, I think this top ten feature might make people go broke!

Gabi