Tumbleweed
“Oh, bury me not, on the lone prairie…” lyrics cowboy ballad. Tumbleweed. It’s a Russian thistle that is invasive across the western US. It’s a weed! $65 online. Yup, someone started to collect and sell them. Me? I did not and do not want one. Our grandkid wanted one for his dad. ??? yup, Xmas. Ok! I found one in CO. We were speeding down the road and I screeched to a stop, hopped out the car, and caught one against the fence. …saved myself $65. Yeah, we looked online. I thought I could do the deed without searching the prairie. We got that sucker home and promptly it was lost. They left it on top of the car as they loaded the luggage to go home. We rescued it again about a block away as it lodged against a fire hydrant. I’ve no clue as to its fate. All I know is that I caught a weed.
What’s a Madder
There is no picture of the madder. You would probably not recognize it. We bought two. It is for dying. That is, you use the root to make a dye for yarn – red. The pedigree is that this particular plant came from the queen’s garden in Kensington. How about that? I have no way to confirm. We have wintered it and it thrived. Then I set It out on the deck when we went on an extended road trip. The only thing that survived was a few very tiny (near microscopic) leaves. I threw the plant out twice because I thought it was dead. It got replanted again and again. My hope? I will revive it and be able to be “back” in the family. Our quest to obtain one met with a lot of poor puns. “Whatsa madder with you?” Geez, could you guys get a better line?
Cacti
Well, I bought my love a cactus for Valentine’s. Actually two, and then I got an orchid…(later post). It was sort of a joke. She’s definitely not prickly. I am,… if I forget to shave. The red cactus is real. The green is dyed? It seems unnatural. I’m not sure. There was a purple one too. So, I think it’s like an Easter chick – dyed. I’m glad I don’t see Easter chicks for sale. For now, the brilliant green cactus seems happy enough. I water faithfully.
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