Heartstrings

Inspirational song: Eric the Half-a-Bee (Monty Python)

I knew it could have been dangerous, walking into a northern Colorado Rotary meeting, wearing a Kansas City Chiefs t-shirt. There had to be too many Broncos fans, born and raised on a rivalry with the Chiefs. But to my good fortune, I was not run out of town on a rail. In fact, there were a few folks who smiled or gave me a nudge with their elbows, saying some version of "it was a great game." In a twist on something my daughter said to me earlier today, this was my first public outing since the Superbowl. I had to wear that shirt. I don't make the rules.

After the meeting, I picked up my daughter and the babies, and we drove up to see whether we could spend the rest of my gift card to Gulleys plant nursery. I knew I shouldn't have passed up so many of the cool plugs that were there a few weeks ago. I could have had a teeny tiny anthurium waroqueanum for 5 bucks. But no, I had to limit myself that day. The houseplants that were fully stocked that day had been wiped out, in all sizes. The fancy stuff in the front room was mostly there, but the rows and rows of things in the big room were gone.

I told Valerie that I intended to put the rhipsalis that grew in her little bumblebee planter into a bigger pot, so it would grow better. I asked her to pick out something different from the plugs, and of course that little boogerhead went straight back to the exact same kind of rhipsalis and pointed at it. No, Val, I want to get something different in the bee. We went all the way down the row, and I pointed out all the cool things, and she wouldn't choose. So I grabbed tiny philodendron prince of orange and ficus shivereana plugs and said I'd figure it out later. Everyone else wandered around so long that I ended up in the gated section, picking out a variegated string of hearts, which is what ended up going in the bee. Honestly, that was the best call. Once it gets some length on it, it will look extraordinary.

I got all the plants potted up, plus putting a few propagations in soil, once I got home. The only thing still waiting for attention was the philodendron splendid I got on clearance. That will need extra work to get it going on a mosspole, but once it's rehabbed, it will be...well...splendid.