I was ho-hum about orchids until I read this book. Now I'm all atwitter about them. (Nice to see the word "twitter" without the word "Weiner," right?)

The book is about a lot more than orchids: the history of the Seminole Indians, wildlife in Florida in general, the western-most section of the Everglades called the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve, and rich people and their hobbies. Oh and passion. That was what the author was really exploring: why some people are so bizarrely passionate about these flowers and what that passion will make them do.

I didn't need this book to remind me that Florida is a state I don't think I'll visit again. Way too hot and way too full of gators.

And the movie "Adaptation," which is kinda, sorta based on the book: saw it twice; remembered virtually nothing about it. That's what you get for watching movies at home on an old-fashioned TV screen (while quilting).