From valued garden commentor Stan of the Sawgrass:
Ellen and I decided to actually WALK to the grocery store yesterday, and I pointed out some night-blooming Cereus pods that were about to bloom. They have a weird, alien pod-people look before they open.
I forgot about it until about midnight, when curiosity got the better of me, so I grabbed my camera and headed over, just in case there was a bloom I could get a picture of.
And, just… wow:
I ran back to get Ellen, so that she could see them, too. The blooms are enormous– about the size of a child’s head.
The blooms were all kind of aimed at a nearby streetlight— I think it would have been the full moon in a natural setting. I thought about going back this morning, for an “after” pic, but it would just be sad. The blooms all die and collapse into a limp, dead thing. One night only, no encores…
Dragon fruit come from a different variety of this cactus. I saw a farm out in Homestead with some kind of Cereus growing on frames, but I’ve never seen Dragon fruit in any of the fruit stands or farmer’s markets out there.
Personally, I’ve never seen any of the flowers do anything but look swell, then wilt and drop off the next day. I might get a brush and try to hand-pollinate one out of curiosity, but unfortunately I suffer from Dragon-ass.
And then of course, since this is for Balloon Juice, this is our new rescue kitten Max:
A friend of Ellen’s found him hiding by the engine in her car. I think he may have come from a colony of ferals that lives by her temple, but that means that he took a ride of a mile or so right by the engine. Marilyn said, “it’s either you, or the humane society.” We agonized, but we were down to one cat since 8-Ball’s recent death. He hid for a day, but having an adult cat around helped, and he bonded with us pretty quickly.
Another flea bath is in his immediate future, but he’s blissfully unaware. Can’t wait till he’s big enough for Advantage, because washing him in Dawn is getting tiresome for us both.
NotMax
Friend here was asked by his landlord earlier this month to trap some feral kittens on the 19 acre property.
Took them to the humane society, who refused to accept them because “they’re too young.”
OzarkHillbilly
wow indeedy.
Hal
There was a black stray cat in my neighborhood that before last winter was not quite a kitten, not quite an adult, and cute as a button. Until I saw him hauling a squirrel, that at that time was longer then she was, behind a shed. I just saw that same cat about three weeks ago and she looks like a mini panther. I’m almost afraid of that cat.
Also animal related (instead of flower chat related); Amy Schumer does a skit on sanctimonious rescue dog owners. The last few seconds are the best.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U68G8up1-qo
satby
Wow is right Stan! Thanks because I would never have even known these existed, being from a tundra state myself. And your new kitten is adorable, it’s amazing he wasn’t killed riding next to the car engine.
satby
@NotMax: That’s crazy. The younger they are the better chance of redomesticating them by handling. Unless they were so young they were still bottle babies, but that’s still crazy.
OzarkHillbilly
@satby: My folks were at a gas station somewhere in the vast prairie and saw this cat. When next they stopped on the other side of the state (SD, NE, KS) they noticed a cat that looked just like the other. When at their 3rd stop (camping for the night) they saw a 3rd identical cat…. They realized they had picked up a hitch hiker.
satby
@OzarkHillbilly: Wow again. So, did they keep it?
satby
So the plan for the day is to clear off enough of my deck to host my housebound friend for a barbecue, today is predicted to be the only non-rainy day this weekend. My friend doesn’t drive, so I also have to go fetch and return him, about an hour each way. I’m blowing off the yard work I should be doing, but if I play my cards right he may help me plant some hanging baskets. Win!
OzarkHillbilly
@satby: No. In fact the next morning it was gone. 400 miles was enough for it. Probably plenty of food for a cat in a campground.
SuperHrefna
That cereus is amazing! I recently got two night blooming cereus house plants, and I hope one if them might delight me with a blossom this year. I’m going to get some day blooming cereus once my local greenhouse propagates some cuttings – the plants they have right now are just too big for me.
And little kitty boy Max is absolutely gorgeous, what a sweetie! The nice thing about kittens is they bloom every day ( and night!), no need to wait around, unlike cereus.
Satby I hope you have a wonderful barbecue!
WereBear
I highly approve of both these projects :)
That’s fascinating about the cereus. And I love those kitten ears.
JPL
Thanks for the pictures. The pictures are amazing and I had no idea that the plant existed.
Max looks right at home.
satby
@SuperHrefna: Thanks Hrefna! I decided if I wait until I feel like the house is guestworthy I won’t have anyone over for another year (soap and supplies everywhere!). So less perfection, more socializing.
Hope you have fun plans for the weekend.
Schlemazel
Thanks for the pictures. I had never heard of a cereus so that is something to see in pictures. Must be really fun to catch the darn thing in bloom.
If I posted a picture of our current cat I believe it has exactly the same markings as your new boy. It sure looks like her baby pictures. hope you have a couple of decades of good times together.
gogol's wife
Max looks just the way my Louis did after we trapped him. Now Louis is a “cat of size,” because we’ve kept him in to keep him away from coyotes and such. His sisters never got fat, but he did.
No diet advice, please, I’ve tried everything. It messes up his digestion and he ends up in the hospital for $1000 a pop.
JPL
It appears that Ireland is going to approve same-sex marriage. Surprising but good news.
WereBear
@JPL: They are ditching the Catholic influence in a big way, eh?
OzarkHillbilly
Could there actually be justice in America instead of “just us”?
Las Vegas tycoon Sheldon Adelson to face graft accusations in US court
The decision raises the prospect of Adelson facing difficult questions about his business practices following allegations by a former chief executive of his highly profitable casinos in the Chinese enclave of Macau that a well-known triad crime figure was used to bring in high-rolling gamblers and of influence peddling with Chinese officials.
The case potentially has implications for Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands casinos because evidence of ties to criminal organisations could cost them their gaming licences.
I look forward to watching more stupidity from him in the witness chair. (his last stint there he just wouldn’t shut up, saying several things directly contradicted by physical evidence)
OzarkHillbilly
@OzarkHillbilly: Please release me,
let me go…
comment in moderation- haven’t a clue as to why
SuperHrefna
@WereBear: The Irish have been mad with the Catholic Church for a long, long time. Magdalen laundries, starved illegitimate babies buried in mass graves, not to mention all the usual priestly child molestation ( and isn’t that a horrible phrase?).
geg6
@JPL:
YES!
OzarkHillbilly
Wait a minute, just figured it out:
Could there actually be justice in America instead of “just us”?
Las Vegas tycoon Sheldon Adelson to face graft accusations in US court
The decision raises the prospect of Adelson facing difficult questions about his business practices following allegations by a former chief executive of his highly profitable cv$ino$ in the Chinese enclave of Macau that a well-known triad crime figure was used to bring in high-rolling gamblers and of influence peddling with Chinese officials.
The case potentially has implications for Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands cv$ino$ because evidence of ties to criminal organisations could cost them their gaming licences.
I look forward to watching more stupidity from him in the witness chair. (his last stint there he just wouldn’t shut up, saying several things directly contradicted by physical evidence)
JPL
@SuperHrefna: Decades of child abuse can cause one to question their faith.
I wonder what Scalia thinks…
SuperHrefna
@satby: That’s the spirit! Personally I prefer a home with that “comforting freshly burgled look” as someone whose name I can’t recall once put it.
Today I am celebrating the end of a massive course of antibiotics ( 2 Cipro snd 3 Flagyl a day, eep!) which has actually helped me a great deal- that abscess must have been dragging me down much further than I had suspected, even with all the side effects from the meds I feel 100x better than I did before.
Right now I’m treating myself to whole wheat blueberry pancakes at a local caff- it’s so chilly this morning, but bright and sunny and the temp should rise by a good 25 degrees if we’re going to make our projected 75 F!
JPL
@OzarkHillbilly: I blame Obama.
Germy Shoemangler
@OzarkHillbilly:
You mean perjury?
OzarkHillbilly
@JPL:
Personally, I wonder if he thinks.
Svensker
@satby:
Good for you! I struggle with that lesson and don’t always win.
Re: the cereus. How big is that whole plant? Looks like a tree in the first pic. When I was little, my great-aunt had a night-blooming cereus as a project and after about 4 years it was ready to bloom. She had a party and everyone came over, then we all trooped outside to look at it. I thought grownups were very weird to make such a fuss over it. Your tree is spectacular, like an alien invasion. Wow.
ETA @SuperHrefna: “comforting freshly burgled look” — that’s perf!
PurpleGirl
@NotMax:
Took them to the humane society, who refused to accept them because “they’re too young.”
That must be code for “we don’t have anyone, either staff or volunteer, who can bottle feed the kittens. Also that they don’t have another recent mama with a litter who they can try to get to adopt these babies to feed.
Germy Shoemangler
Some kind and generous soul uploaded the entire soundtrack of “Pennies From Heaven” – not the Steve Martin film, but the glorious tv version starring Bob Hoskins. I saw it when it originally aired on PBS in the late ’70s, and I’m loving the music all over again.
OzarkHillbilly
@Germy Shoemangler: I am sure that he will just say he “misremembered” and being 80+ yrs old that will be enough.
The funniest thing about his testimony was that an opposing attorney would ask him a yes or no question and he would take off on a 5 minute soliloquy about stuff that was only vaguely related, never mind the fact that it was directly contradicted by other evidence, and the whole time he would be talking down to people as tho he was just so much smarter than they and they just didn’t understand how the world works.
Unfortunately for him, those opposing attorneys understood all too well how our courts work and let him talk. And talk. And talk. And talk. And talk….
PurpleGirl
Stan of the Sawgrass: Those are beautiful pictures and the flower… WOW. Thanks for going back out to get pictures of the bloom. (I agree that getting ‘morning after’ photos would be a let down and depressing.)
Germy Shoemangler
@OzarkHillbilly: A man who spends his life surrounded by “underlings” and giving orders suddenly finds himself testifying. He treats the court like underlings and talks down to them. Behavior patterns are tough to break.
Germy Shoemangler
Sheldon Adelson… When I saw him on TV my immediate reaction was that he looks exactly like a Ralph Steadman illustration.
Sarah Silverman made an indecent proposal to him during the 2012 campaign.
gogol's wife
@SuperHrefna:
“Personally I prefer a home with that ‘comforting freshly burgled look’ as someone whose name I can’t recall once put it.”
Haha, that’s us. Stolen.
PurpleGirl
@WereBear: I think every other Irish family has at least one uncle who’s not married, still single at some advanced age, plays the second dad and every one loves the uncle. They may not talk about out loud but they know and now they do want that uncle to be living a better and open life.
My brother-in-law had Uncle Joe, who helped take care of the family. Uncle Joe was a cop, who worked at City Hall and was for years a mayoral driver. Every one knew his preferences and they loved him, because of, in spite of, whatever. Uncle Joe took care of the family when his sister was in psychological distress.
OzarkHillbilly
@Germy Shoemangler: And oh so beautiful when put on full display for all the world to see. Sigh…. Almost makes me wistful for Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign.
OzarkHillbilly
@gogol’s wife: My older sis has a saying: “A neat house is a sign of a wasted life.”
WereBear
@PurpleGirl: I’m no fan of the Catholic Church, but what they did in Ireland has been astoundingly cruel.
I think it wonderful that their influence is waning… because let’s face it. It wasn’t used for good.
MomSense
One night only. Wow!
Dog bless you for taking Max. He is adorable and looks like he is rapidly figuring out the whole domesticated thing. I hope he doesn’t make too much mischief of one kind and another.
Hal
@Germy Shoemangler: Adelson looks like a melted wax candle, and the sooner he and the Koch brothers shuffle off this mortal coil, the better off we’ll all be.
PurpleGirl
@WereBear: Agreed that what the RC church did in Ireland was astoundingly cruel. And it does seem that with influences from other places, the people are learning how to live without the church as the major social force in their lives.
WereBear
Oh, you made me laugh!
Calouste
The first four constituencies have declared their results in the Irish marriage referendum and they are all Yes.
Amir Khalid
@Germy Shoemangler:
The dog who got roped into helping Sarah demonstrate the act looks somewhat confused. As I imagine I would, in that situation.
Debbie
@JPL:
Nice to see Ireland saving the world a second time!
TaMara (BHF)
Great flowers and a cute cat to start the morning . Terrific. In other news….it’s still bleeping raining. I don’t do well without sun…going on 23 days now. Time to find more gopher wood.
Germy Shoemangler
@Amir Khalid: I wonder if Sheldon is well-known to the larger U.S. population? I’ve heard of him because of blogs like this, but isn’t he under the radar for the majority of people (and voters)?
Amir Khalid
@Germy Shoemangler:
How well-known are The Republican Billionaires, generally? Sheldon and The Koch Bros. and Foster Friess tend not to court the limelight. They’re probably not happy to be known to the public at all. They want to be the man that owns the President; it wouldn’t serve their interests as well to be The Man Famous For Owning The President.
gelfling545
@JPL: Apparently the Bishop of Derry, who is not in favor of it himself warned people against voting no for reasons of “bigotry or bullying” and that each must follow his conscience while the Bishop of Dublin said he had no desire to force his religious views on others. This is unprecedented in my experience as an RC for much of my life & with family ties to the Church still. I am absolutely shocked, in a good way.
sacrablue
@JPL: So where can I go to watch Bill Donahue’s and Maggie Gallagher’s heads explode? Will it be LIVE on CNN?
kc
Spectacular pics! And what a cute kitty.
J R in WV
I have a cousin with a big cereus plant in her spare bedroom. It was from a start she was given from a giant specimen in the Seattle area, where she lived before she moved to the desert Southwest. It lives in a small pot, by a small western window, but has grown to stretch from floor to ceiling, though the pot is on the bedside table!
I haven’t seen or smelled the bloom, but she did give us a start, which sits in a pot by a window. We let it dry out pretty well between waterings, and it is planted in a loose sandy mixture, so it does dry out pretty well.
It is growing slowly, and so I expect it will be quite a while before we are blessed with a bloom.
phoebes-in-santa fe
Lovely tuxedo kitten. They are such interesting cats to look at. I have a six year old male tuxie I adopted from the local shelter five years ago and he’s a gem. Bonded quickly with the older cat. Have fun and know you did a wonderful thing by taking him in.
Chris T.
If you have the time, don’t do the Dawn-bath thing, get a flea comb and comb the fleas and flick them into a dish with the soap-water. It’s a groom-bonding thing for you and the cat while also getting rid of the fleas (vs the bath, which is typically miserable for the cat…).
Medicine Man
Your new kitten looks almost identical to a tuxedo kitten I adopted last year. Little Hugo’s chin is black but other than that Max and Hugo could be twins. So if you’d like to see what your kitten is going to look like at eight months, I can send you a picture of my cat.