OESheepdog's open call - 2 n' 1

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:04:03 -0400

Thanks OE! I don't have time to do anything these days (haven't eaten yet today and it's 8:30) but this I can handle.

#1. I can do tricks on my bike

#2. I'm related by marriage to an inventor, a judge, and a pornographer.

#3. I can tie a maraschino cherry stem in a knot with my tongue.

Kinda obvious, I guess.

NYC OS Anniversary Party

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 20:04:38 -0400

Not at all a flounce!

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 22:03:09 -0400

Hey there all! This is just for anyone who might find their way over to my page wondering where in the hell I've gone recently. Well, the good news is that I got my job back! Technically it's a different position but a much better one for me and I'm tons happier. Just praying the economy holds out enough that I can keep it. So, I'll still be checking in as often as I can but since I'm a gardener and our busy season is already starting, I'm going to be lucky if I can find the time to sleep for these next few months! You know though, I think OS was one of my favorite parts of being unemployed. That and naps. Oh, I miss my sweet, sweet naptime.

Homage to a Meconopsis (my weekend in photos)

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:03:10 -0400

This last weekend was one out with the girls. We had planned to go down to the Philadelphia Flower Show. Then my friend found out she got this great internship opportunity at Longwood Gardens and we decided to make a weekend of it so she could meet with her future boss. You know the joy you feel at the first truly warm, t-shirt-worthy day in the spring? Well, that day came this weekend. It's about 30 degrees colder here today so that makes the previous 2 days that much more special. I needed to get away for some happy time and I knew that all the plants would do it for me.

I wasn't expecting much from the Flower Show. There are always some interesting things that are fun to see but for the most part the display portion is just sad approximations of ill-planned suburban gardens. I mean, do you really want all those azaleas burning holes into your brain with their neon clusterfuck? And I know you probably can't see it but who plants roses (sun-loving) amongst hosta (shade-loving)? Bah!

But really, that one is the pinnacle of taste compared to this.....I don't think there is a word for it. I think maybe there is an expulsion of bodily fluids that would describe it but words fail me. It appears Dr. Seuss shat out a Fagus sylvatica 'Pendula'. Yes kids, the whole damn tree is painted.

Lest you think I'm just a snob, I must admit that I really enjoy these following displays every year. The dresses are made entirely of plant matter.

Then there was this display. It was showing what you could actually farm in a small back yard. I think this was the most worthwhile one of them all since a lot more people are trending toward growing their own food simply because they can't afford to buy it. There was a compost bin, a chicken coop, and tons of veggies (and strawberries) in this small space.

Over on the marketplace side of things, it was the same as every year but that's nice because by this point, I know what I want and I can impatiently barge through a bunch of people to get to what I want. Unfortunately, I had to make a pit-stop at a stand that was selling cut branches for decoration. They had some curly willow branches with these awful bagworm sacs hanging off of them. I just about lost it because bagworms are a hugely destructive worm/moth that will destroy your 20-year-old hedge of arborvitae in the space of a few weeks. I told the guy in charge of selling them that he needed to get rid of them right away. He replied by telling me they were praying mantis egg cases. My friends and I loudly replied "oh no they aren't!" with the horror befitting ones who have spent countless hours picking the "bags" off of trees and spraying BT to kill them. Consider this your education for the day for those of you who weren't previously aware.........

This is a bagworm case. See all the telltale bits of tree?

This is a Praying Mantis egg case. It looks like a little bit of that expanding foam insulation stuff.

Now you know so don't you let me catch you mistaking the two!! It's inexcusable and I'm not afraid to put you over my knee.

On to the rest of the marketplace. There were two places I wanted to hit. The best was this place called Meehan's Miniatures. It's exactly what it sounds like; mini varieties of plants or ones that are small and are good for use in bonsai. I LOVE this place! It's the most important reason I go to the show. I got several little things, most of which I've never grown so that's even more exciting. I got this little fuchsia that I had last year called "Lottie Hobbie". It's flowers are about 1/4 " long! I actually squealed when I saw it and that caused a murmur of excitement among those close to me. I think I might have gotten the last one too. All the other people who, like me, were searching for that elusive special plant were asking what I found. I was, momentarily, the hort-dork equivalent of the "cool kid".

After that, I had a few tense moments with the ATM where I was milliseconds away from channeling Curly from the 3 Stooges. I had to make my way through the crowd that felt the consistency of peanut butter to get to the only other machine in the hall. Then, I had to swim back but finally got my yearly passiflora (the flower in my avatar). All things considered, the show was a success but if you've never gone, make sure to go early on a weekday morning if you want to escape with your sanity intact. If not, please leave your weapons at home because the crowds will certainly tempt their use.

Spent the night at a hotel that night and had to wake up at the ungodly hour of 8:30 only to find my friends were already awake and dressed. I simply do not understand morning people. At all. They laughed at my unanswered pleas to my alarm. They were cheerful before 10 am. And the worst part, THEY WERE ASLEEP BY 10 PM!!!!!

After 2 failed attempts at a cup of decaf and one satisfactory english muffin, we were on the road to Longwood Gardens. We had to go in the business entrance so my friend could meet up with her future boss. Things definitely started out well because not only was it a beautiful day but the first person we spoke to there was way nicer than security guards usually are. Boss guy greeted us at the car and gave us some comp tickets for the gardens. Even more niceness! Two of us headed off to the entrance gate where we were welcomed by the sweetest cat who truly seemed to exist to make visitors welcome. Because a welcomed person is statistically much more likely to provide some good petting!

From there we entered the conservatory and I was on sensory overload for the rest of the day.

There were the ferns......

The citrus blooms whose smell made me wish I was Tom Robbins so I could properly describe them.....

The espaliered nectarine trees that are a living poem to the peaceful co-existence of man and nature.....

The campanula being all fancy and "look at me!"...

And the orchids.....

Oh....my.....god..........

The fragrance, the color.......

These are truly the sexiest flowers alive.

"Well of course I have a full lawn in my conservatory, don't you?"

This one seemed like driving really fast into a snow storm.

This is the one that brought us to tears. It's a meconopsis a.k.a Himilayan Blue Poppy. They are very hard to grow and similarly hard to find. I've seen them as small plants before but this was my first personal viewing.

If this doesn't make you feel something then I don't want to know you.

Excuse me while I go do a little dance of joy, for in this beauty I see that true, unabashed love and happiness are not just possible but are a birthright of every single one of us.

Peekers - My Best Friend

Mon, 2 Mar 2009 17:03:34 -0500

This morning, I had to watch the death of the being who has stood by me through everything for the last 17 1/2 years. Peekers was a wedding present from my first husband when she was only a kitten. She has had a wonderful long life and I couldn't have asked for a more perfect friend. If I was crying, she would comfort me; if I was happy, she joined in the play. A little over a year ago, she was diagnosed with kidney failure and later the vet said he didn't expect her to last more than 2 weeks. Thanks to some miracle drugs, she had a whole extra year with us. This last week was a tough one because we realized the end was near. She stopped eating and seemed to be constantly in discomfort. We did everything we could. We saw it in her eyes; she was ready. We knew very well how much she loved us by the way she always wanted to be close. Even in the bathroom. Particularly in the bathroom. We knew we had to offer her the final act of love and let her go. I've never had such a spiritual bond with anyone before as those last few moments in the vet's office. We held her through the sedative and the pentobarbitol. I kept a lock of her beautiful fur to remember her. I know many of you have been through similar loss so I am sorry if this brings up difficult memories. She was absolutely perfect in every way and I just wanted to honor her friendship with a memorial.

She was a romantic--a hand-holder.

She loved her some catnip; either a pile of fresh.....

Or her special little baggie of dried that I made.

She was not a fan of headbands. At all.

But boy, did she love her some grass!

I will always have very happy memories of the time I had with this very special creature and I thank her with all my heart and soul for the love she gave to me.

katina choovanski's Open Salon Blog

OESheepdog's open call - 2 n' 1

NYC OS Anniversary Party

Not at all a flounce!

Homage to a Meconopsis (my weekend in photos)

Peekers - My Best Friend