Our Cereus is riddled with blooms again.
I counted 18, maybe 19. It started out with over 20 but many of the buds didn’t finish forming before they dried out.

I probably could’ve paid more attention while this plant was blooming but everything just happened so fast.

4-18-09 – This stalk started sprouting last year, maybe early Autumn?

4-28-09 – 10 days later, a flower.

5-25-09 – Then I forgot about it and a month later, all this happened.

I don’t know what these are called but the blooms are very fragrant.  This little bunch has been sitting in our study for a week and the whole room smells so nice.

April 18 12:36 PM

After 11.5 hours April 18 11:55 PM

13 hours later April 19 1:04 PM

19 hours later April 20 8:19 AM

35 hours later April 21 6:56 PM

A few months after giving the orchids a good ass freezing, I’ve learned a thing or two from my charges.

Listen, that was pretty egregious treatment but we’ll forgive your transgression this time.

They’re not orchids, they’re pansies. 45 degrees was perfect.

We have no knowledge of the previous tenant. We have nothing to do with their disappearance. Keep the water coming though.

*Not available for comment.

While my parents were out of town, my dad entrusted his beloved orchids to me for two weeks. Clearly this was a mistake as they have all but frozen. In my overzealous attempt to save natural resources and a few bucks (I got the bill, I saved about $50), I may have done these poor plants in. I don’t know if they’ll make it but my dad’s been trying to revive them ever since he got back. They sure look pitiful don’t they? At least now I know their threshold for cold tolerance: not 45 degrees Fahrenheit!

The 1 to 2-inch snow accumulation stuck around long enough to leave evidence that deer are eating my shrubbery! They’re walking right up to my front doorstep and chowing down on the miserable bushes. I don’t know where I got this idea in my head that they don’t like walking on concrete and pavement. Clearly that is a wrong assumption.

Bedtime suddenly gets earlier and earlier when the house is cold. Ah, I appreciate my warm toasty room that much more when the house is 45 degrees. In looking back at the last time that cymbidium bloomed (Feb 2006) I realize it’s not going to happen this year. The flower spike started growing the previous year and it took months. If it happens, it won’t be until 2010. Hopefully, these 40-something temps will encourage it to happen next year.

Monday, I wore two tops and wound up keeping my coat and scarf on all day.
Tuesday, I wore three tops and wound up keeping my coat and scarf on all day.
Today, I have four tops and two pants on. And I finally shed the coat. The scarf stays on though! Remember that story of the girl who always wore a ribbon around her neck and she promised she’d tell her lover why she never took it off after they got married? Then on their wedding night, she finally let him take off the ribbon…and, you know what happened yeah?

This is the first orchid bloom of the bunch this year. It’s only the second week of January and the third week of Winter but already we’re getting just a hint of Spring. Oh and even better, I’m not driving to and from work in the dark anymore! In fact, excepting for those rainy overcast days, I have needed sunglasses during my commutes.