Hi Mike, I forgot to mention the 'Blue Tango'xerographia...good you thought of it. On my first sight of it,I did a double-take...Huh ? wazzat ? It made an interesting attention getter. Did'nt fool me for a minute! [but maybe for 10 seconds it did ;) ] The Story must wait until I get my purchased plants,which were shipped today. The light green aroid in the tree in the first pic has us stumped. Its not a brom,and is thicker than Til.usneoides,similar to Rhipsalis pilocarpa (but those asked said its not a Rhipsalis),and it hangs and sways in the wind. Very attractive,and we've not ever seen it before. Any ideas out there ?? Bob

Hey spiny fans...due to my doubt about a pic of Dyckia cineria in the book, so I asked the curator of Heidelberg Botanical Garden, Timm Stolten to solve this topic. Then he tried to help me and just got a quick reply from Derek Butcher. Uncle Derek reminded him that exactly this subject was discussed in an old BSI article (J.Brom Soc. 45: 117. 1995) by Harry E. Luther wrote: "...When Can A Picture Be Trusted? A recent comparison of Dyckia marnier-lapostollei with Dyckia cinerea made me think at first that it was a valid attempt based on the published work of authorities, but then I did a little research that I shall describe. The problems associated with cultivated Dyckia marnier-lapostollei and D. cinerea result from the condition that they are probably the same thing. Note that I say "cultivated." This is a horticultural identification problem and not a taxonomic problem in the strict sense. Real Dyckia cinerea is probably not in cultivation, at least in the United States, unless it has very recently come in as wild collections from Caraga or vicinity. I have not seen any. I have a photograph of the type specimen of D. cinerea (Glaziou 18570 at Berlin) that portrays a plant very different from D. marnier-lapostollei. The leaves are much longer, relatively narrower with much more laxly arranged, generally shorter spines. The scape is very much more robust; the inflorescence appears more densely flowered than any D. marnierlapostollei. The specimen is only a fragment but I suspect that the overall appearance of this species is quite different from D. marnier-lapostollei as well. So what's the problem? Why any confusion? To find out, look at the black and white photo in Dr. Werner Rauh's BROMELIADS, the 1979 English edition, or in the later, reprinted edition BROMELIAD LEXICON, between pages 290-291, illustration 252. See the Dyckia cinerea? **Get our your pencil. It's really a Dyckia marnier-lapostollei. The identification was corrected in the later German edition of BROMELIEN but not brought to the attention of English-only readers.** If there are any questions about "big" Dyckia marnier-lapostollei, consider the culture involved. The type specimen, which can be seen in the photos in the protologue, appears to be in a very small, perhaps four-inch pot. Most of us now grow these things with much more root room. Was the type specimen "bonsaied"? Are our robust specimens normal? Eight or so years ago, I saw a few freshly collected plants that were at least 50% larger than what was reported in the literature. I'm sure that size can vary somewhat so this characteristic should not be cause for undue suspicion. If any one has living material that he or she is sure is Dyckia cinerea let me know. I will be glad to try to verify it..." So everything is clear...;-)

HEY! Thanks for sharing! We all want to know about great places to get worms! Thanks SO much! baby birdy blessings to yours! : )

"but the kitten didn't act feral at all, which leads me to think she might have a home. She seemed so eager for attention, though" If she shows up again, and you are able to financially and physically take responsibility for her, take the cat and don't feel a moment's regret or guilt. Cats pick their people. You shouldn't argue with them about it. :o) My mother has said for years that I'm acquiring other people's cats when I take in the strays from my yard. But if a cat chooses to remain in my yard (a couple acres in a very rural area) and not return to wherever they were from originally... None of them have ever had any form of ID, some were never even fixed, and none have ever wanted or even tried to leave the house once they were in. A couple of winters ago, a neighbor asked me to look out for one of her barn cats that hadn't been returning home for dinner. Sure enough, there were tracks all over my yard and he showed up in person on my deck that evening. He spent most of the snowy night trying to get in windows and doors all around my house. I hadn't seen him before but he'd obviously been visiting quite a bit, for my crew ignored him completely as he sat out in the cold, peering enviously in at the warm and dry residents. (It turns out I actually had had a brief glimpse of him peering in the glass door months before, but he had been much younger and very skittish at the time.) I had him in the house by the next evening, and he turned out to be such a doll I told his caretaker she couldn't have him back. The woman didn't demand his return, claimed he was "ugly" and not very social (and she had the rest of his litter and his mother to care for). His brother however, who had been by for a visit the month before, was the gal's favorite - and I should have snatched him up, no matter what havoc I imagined he would have wreaked had I brought him inside, because as it turned out I was the last person to ever see that cat again. Believe me, the last thing I needed was another cat, but the rest of the barn cat family is no longer among the living or have been missing for well over a year now. It has been more than worth the trouble and expense to save the one I did. You hate to pick favorites, but the cat I certainly didn't "need" or "wanted" has turned out to be one of the best cats I've ever had. Good luck with the kitten if you find her again. (Black and white's are the absolute best, by the by!) Crazy Cat Lady Wren