My daddy turns 87 today.
For his birthday, I got him a new set of tools.
Not just any tools. Tiny tools.
I told him they were for working on his model planes.
He got a kick out of that.
FLOWER loves her daddy.
Tiny Shiny Tools
All Those Arms
I tend to change the names of people, places and things.
Just ask my students and family. New names are the norm with the FLOWER.
So I call this Life Saver plant ( Huernia zebrina) by the name Starfish plant. Which is NOT its correct name.
This is not due to senility.
It’s because this plant reminds me of a starfish story I used to tell my students.
Starfish/Seastars are capable of regeneration. If they lose an arm, they grow a new one.
This is important to know if you are harvesting oysters.
You see starfish eat shellfish. They use these arms to pull open the shell and stick their stomachs inside to secret acids that dissolve the guts of the victim. Then they slurp up the goo. Yummy.
Oyster fishermen in the past tried to kill off the competition by chopping them into pieces. This only multiplied the problem, because if a piece of the central disc was left on the arms, all those pieces became new starfish.
So the lesson here is to know your enemy.
Okay… back to the plant.
The Life Saver plant likes to drop arms around.
If these land in a neighboring pot, the pieces produce new plants.
So all those arms are a way of reproducing asexually.
So the Life Saver gets called the Starfish at FLOWER’s house.
It’s no surprise that Wingrid loves this plant. It’s the extra arms she can relate to.
Anybody want some Starfish…I mean Life Saver plant parts?
FLOW
Saving the Tigers
Some of my plants are too precious to leave their survival to chance.
I put my new Tiger lilies at the top of my precious list.
I know they are supposed to survive in zones 4 through 9.
I am in zone 7, so I should relax and leave them out, but…
Some winters are extremely cold, others are soggy wet.
Our soil is red clay so things rot. I have to put pebbles under plants to ensure drainage.
Why would I risk the only lily the mama deer did not eat?
These Tigers are the only lilies that came through the “deer delicatessen ” month uneaten.
So both the bulbs and the bulbils are coming in.
I removed the purple bulbils from the stems.
I immediately popped these into some cactus soil in shallow pots and watered them.
Label these babies in the pots.
Then I removed the yellowed plants from their giant pot.
I shook the damp soil off the roots.
I let these dry a few days and then knock off the remaining soil.
I store them in a cardboard box full of damp vermiculite separated be used packing paper. Separation prevents the spread of diseases.
The big, heavy, empty pot will have to stay outside.
Always keep the label with the bulbs.
If you think you will recognized them in the spring,
you are either young or very optimistic.
I always have WTF (What’s This Flower) moments in spring.
Now these Tigers , big and small, will be safe through the winter in my workshop with my hundreds of other precious plants.
The FLOWER knows she is forgetful and plans accordingly.
FLOWER in the Fall
The Marvelous Marching Band
Western Carolina University is known for its marvelous marching band.
I finally got to witness their showmanship first hand.
Even the warm up session was fascinating.
The members were grouped by instruments.
I ran from one to the next, watching these young musicians getting ready to perform.
When they took the field, they filled it up.
The sights and the sounds took me back to my days in my high school band.
I was so inspired by their polished performance.
Oh yes, there was also a football game.
FLOWER
ATTENTION: Worker Bees
Calling all worker bees.
It’s time to stop making honey
and fly to the polls.
Do not let the smoke confuse you.
The drones think they own the hive.
Rise up and use your voting power.
Ignore the media buzz.
Vote with your heart.
Choose love over hate.
Choose hope over fear.
There is no OTHER,
just US seeking justice for all.
This is your call to wings.
Swarm the polls.
Sincerely and respectfully,
Your fellow worker bee FLOWER
Fairy Halloween Party
The fairies have a new hangout. Since it is fall, I carved a pumpkin just for them.
They love all our human traditions for decorating and celebrating.
They like trick-or-treating
and bobbing for crabapples
and roasting marshmallows.
Blow that out PI!
They spend most evenings together inside that pumpkin.
Oh, look. They are in there now. Let’s take a peek inside.
Looks like a Halloween party.
What’s this girls? Gambling?
and alcohol?
Et tu Tink? Wait ’til Disney hears about this.
I should have known when I saw Wingrid’s new bottle tree.
How old are fairies anyway?
FLOW is always the last to know.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN
Daddy and the Big Planes
It’s been a big week for my daddy.
You have seen posts of him with his little model planes.
https://floweralley.org/2018/04/06/my-daddys-little-airport/
This week he went to see some real World War II planes.
He looked rather tiny rolling around under these giant aircraft.
The Collins Foundation brought their ‘Wings of Freedom Tour ‘ to Statesville’s Airport.
There was a B-25 Mitchell named the TonDeLayo.
Also a B-17 Flying Fortress, the Nine-O-Nine.
Daddy’s favorite was the B-24J -Liberator called Witchcraft.
We got to see some lucky folks take rides in a P-51 Mustang.
Daddy enjoyed talking with one of the pilots about the different motors used in the P-51.
He also met a Vietnam veteran whose dad, Roy E. Guy, was shot down in Germany.
Mama was a good sport during the event, as usual, despite being cold.
My sister was Daddy’s wingman, rolling him wherever he pointed.
I, of course, was the reporter, photographer and spy.
He claims that last year’s Liberator is his last model plane.
https://floweralley.org/2018/02/11/my-daddys-planes/
I hope this is not true. My daddy just loves planes. He was like a kid in a toy store.
I must include this cute little dog, who waited patiently while his daddy got up in a plane for a photo.
The FLYING FLOWER
Saving My Passions
Saving my Passions involves some risky behavior.
I must climb a ladder with scissors in my hand. Twice.
The first trim occurs back in early fall. I cut off the side shoots.
I then streamline the vines down to three or four main stems.
The first trim prevents the vines from getting shocked all at once and makes the second trim easier.
Then I climb back up again, about a month later, to cut them down from the trellises.
I usually leave about one third of the plant in place.
I wrap this lower portion into a wreath-like ring and secure it to a short trellis in the pot.
I use garland hooks from craft stores to hold vines onto the trellis. These can be moved and removed easily.
I then wheel my potted vines into my sunny workshop to spend the winter with all my other precious plants.
It’s a jungle in there!
The trimmed pieces may be cut up into cuttings to produce new Passion vine plants for my friends.
I keep a request list. Newly rooted plants will be given away in the spring.
The bunnies helped out by hiding under the Turk’s Cap plant.
They know mama on a ladder with scissors is something to be afraid of.
FLOWER
You Go On Ahead
If you walk in the woods with me, plan on walking alone.
While you are getting your heart rate up, I will be bending down to examine red berries.
You will jump over this log, but I will stop to admire a fungi castle on top, among a forest of moss.
You will be looking strait ahead , but I will look down to watch a woolly worm wiggle across my path.
You will quickly round this curve in the trail, I will pause to wave at a big old rock that is smiling at me.
You will loudly stroll by these stones, but I know a troll lives here, so I will I tiptoe past quietly.
You will avoid muddy spots , but I will closely to examine them for prints of the claws of my other friends.
When you see this tree, you will frown at this hole in the trunk,
but I will smile because I know that it is a door to a fairy’s home.
So you go on ahead,
I will be behind you
enjoying all the wonders that you missed as you hurried past.
FLOW (Moseying through the Mountains)
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