esrosedotblog

MIT interview today. I picked a new place to meet. The old spot in the village was constantly under assault by events being held there. Crowds. Last weekend it was biker's weekend. This week, the end of the gay pride parade. So I met the kid in a coffee place near where we used to live, new to me as I don't do coffee in "places", but it all worked out. Plenty of parking, nice surroundings, not crowded, not too noisy from the nearby street. Just right. I am going to use it again next week. The interview was so so. I wrote as enthusiastically as I could. That is my new policy. Pump it up reasonably. I have found in the feedback I get from MIT that they downgrade me when I am critical of the kid. I am never too tough but they like to hear the good side and draw their own conclusions. Another few years at this and I will have it down.

We are under siege from painters of the condo A major project, the first painting of the wood and stucco, all around, in over 20 years. I moved all the plants, mostly cactus, and stuff to the middle of the patio and the gardeners have trimmed back most, not all, of the bushes in preparation for the washers and painters. People who have had this done so far, on the other side, say it is not too bad in the actual painting. The results look pretty good although a bit undramatic as I do not see that much difference between then and now. But that is me. People are a bit upset when I don't ooh and aaaahhh over it. It is as though it is their personal paint job. But it is not.

Labels: cactus, condo, MIT

Raising cactus must be a bit like raising wild animals.

A wise animal trainer will always keep the word "wild" in mind. Same with the cactus guy. These plants are just on the fringe of civilization. Not ready to be domesticated.

Not only is an animal trainer required to be on guard, s/he must also be ready to accept any responsibility if there are "accidents". If he gets bitten.

I was working with my cactus today and was rearranging.

One of the least tame cacti was just asking to be slipped into a new pot and so I did the job.

Earlier I had picked up a broken plant that the cat had knocked over. Not our cat. The one who comes into the yard to annoy Booker. Well, he is our cat in a way or Booker's but he doesn't live here.

The broken cactus was a special one. It had been drooping all summer and for some reason started to straighten itself up a week ago and had just finished the move to vertical. Of course, that is/was its problem. It became too tall for the cat to jump over on the way out of the yard. Up over the fence.

I was pretty careful. I got my leather gloves which are not really proof against a prick but a help and I used an empty cereal box to hold the remains on the way to the trash so that no one else would get bitten either. I only got one little pick in the process. Pretty good.

So here I am with my wildest meanest cactus. Wild and mean because it has highly visible "teeth" which can really hurt and there are also almost invisible little tentacles that emanate further out from the bad ones. They are invisible.

The movement to another pot was no big deal. The soil was very dry and in a clump. All I had to do was slip the new pot onto the old.

I somehow let down my guard and tried doing this without gloves. Whammo! It got me.

As best I can reconstruct one of the little tendrils caught me and I lost my grip and then I fell right into the jaws of the big bastards.

I dropped the plant. As usual, it didn't get hurt.

But my hand and thumb hurt like hell and that is not an easy over and out kind of hurt.

The spines have poison on them and it releases into the cut. The pain is immediately heavy duty.

And you can feel it working its way up the finger into the blood stream. The arm can even get numb. It is still a little weird. Numb.

No gloves, a disrespect for history (this has happened with this cactus before) and a little bad luck and I am in the infirmary for a few minutes. That means I took a break, stood back, shook my hand, sucked my thumb on the mistaken theory that the venom will come out if you do that. It may but then it is in my mouth. Good that it doesn't.

These are all autonomic responses. Unconscious appeals to the primitive mind for relief. As basic as life itself.

Back in the cage you nasty bastard. I put on my gloves. No need for them now.

This cactus is my favorite plant in the entire garden. Earned respect.

Labels: cactus, gardening

SURVIVAL

Last fall I bought a desert rose plant to fill out my cactus/succulent collection on the patio.

I went against a long standing principle which is to never buy a plant that is in bloom.

But it was so pretty, I brought it home. And while it does not look like a cactus, it lives like one. Well, one that needs a bit more water.

I think that it is deciduous. I am too lazy to look it up. You do it.

The blooms lasted for a month or so and then, winter came, lower sun and all, and it bore no more blossoms.

OK.

Then about 6 weeks ago, it dropped all its leaves.

This confirmed my worst fears. But a few leaves stayed and so I let it go. I had nothing to fill the space.

Soon after, there appeared to be buds all over the stem ends.

The buds grew.

Now the first spring blossoms are in full life and there are many many buds.

I guess it has two seasons!

Well, it has had two, whether that means two a year is not yet clear.

A lot of plants do this in the desert. They get the unfiltered sun and the heat, spring forth and have a full bloom.

The summer heat puts them in dormancy.

Then the fall comes and the plant revives to do another set of blooms before it has its winter and fall (of a few weeks) and begins again.

Hope so.

Labels: botany, cactus, desert, flowers