For pH, i use a pH test kit, with drops of pH sensitive dye. Cost about $10, more then accurate enough for what I need, and I don't have to worry about replacing pen tips. I set up my pH at the beginning, and put in an air bubbler to agitate, mix the pH Down in, and also clean out some of the chlorine thats in the water. Then put it in my system and forget about it. I've checked it after two weeks. It crept up a bit, but was still acceptable (just below 7). So now I don't worry about it.

So many poets; there are a number of male poets who wrote of death. Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, Carlos Williams, e.e. cummings, Dylan Thomas (Do not go gently into that good night). Without knowing the people involved here, I would throw out this touching end to a long poem: [Yet when we meet we seem in silence to say, Pretending serene forgetfulness of our youth, "Do you remember but then why should you remember! Do you remember a certain day, Or evening rather, spring evening long ago, We talked of death, and love, and time, and truth, And said such wise things, things that amused us so How foolish we were, who thought ourselves so wise!" And then we laugh, with shadows in our eyes.] --Conrad Aiken, Nocturne of Remembered Spring. or this: [The world is too much with us ; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers : Little we see in Nature that is ours ; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon ! This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon ; The winds that will be howling at all hours, And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers ; For this, for everything, we are out of tune ; It moves us not.  Great God ! IÂd rather be A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn ; So might I, standing on this pleasant lea, Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn ; Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea ; Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.] --William Wordsworth Or, [Epitaph by Sir Walter Ralegh Even such is Time, which takes in trust Our youth, our joys, and all we have, And pays us but with age and dust; Who in the dark and silent grave, When we have wandered all our ways, Shuts up the story of our days: And from which earth, and grave, and dust, The Lord shall raise me up, I trust.] There's a popular one that ends "...Twas Heaven Here with You." that I can't find. Here's a place to start a search. Here is a link that might be useful: Poets' Graves

Ferny looking foliage? If so, Euphorbia cyparissias. If regular, oblong shaped leaves, Euphorbia epithymoides, aka cushion spurge. It would help to see the foliage, but I'm leaning towards the cushion spurge.

Update: Some of the succulents I planted into gritty mix have been shriveling, which I thought was thirst, but watering didn't help... so I realized they're probably rotting. The tall sticks (which I thought were "Minima" Jades but after seeing a lookaIike at Home Depot, I think are actually Portulacaria afra) are definitely rotting away from the tips and new shoots down. :( So I think I need to pull these out, wash the old soil off the roots, remove any rotten parts, and let dry. I have a few questions: 1) if the stem is rotting, what does that look like, and how much stem/leaves should I remove? 2) Can I leave any roots if they look OK, and does drying them out kill them anyway? Or is this essentially like making a cutting and letting it callous and make new roots? 3) Once they dry can I just replant them where they were in the gritty mix? On a more fun note, I went to Home Depot yesterday intending to buy zero succulents and instead spent an hour taking pictures and purchasing 7 new ones! And to my delight, all but one had an actual species ID! Clockwise from top left: Kalanchoe marnieriana Crassula rupestris Crassula "Candy Cane" (with a warning that propagation is prohibited... how would they stop you?) Sedum rubrotinctum "Pork and Beans" Crassula ovata "Ogre Ears" Sedum rubrotinctum "Aurora" ???? that was on clearance with a bunch of very sick and damaged succulents, but it looks healthy enough to me! Here's a closeup of it - anyone know what it is? The Ogre Ears had mealy bugs so I doused all of them with 50% rubbing alcohol last night. I also watered them because their soil all seemed bone dry, which I'm learning maybe I really shouldn't need to do? :/ I want to transplant them to gritty mix today (and do it right this time! Wash off all the soil and let dry). Also at Home Depot, I think I was able to better ID some of my current succulents, like the Crassula ovata "Minima" (#8) actually being a Portulacaria afra. The original mystery plant could possibly be Sedeveria "Sorrento"? Though the leaves look bigger/fatter on this one than they were on mine: OR possibly Sedeveria "Jet Beads"? These leaves aren't bigger but they do seem fatter than what I have... Not sure either of these are it: #3 Could actually be Graptosedum "Blue Giant"? A very similar-looking succulent was labeled this at HD, but I can't find photos to confirm it online. Maybe it's actually Sedeveria "Blue Giant"? #6 I thought looked like a plant labeled Sedeveria "Harry Butterfield," but looking online, it doesn't look right to me... #18 Senecio vitalis (Narrow-Leaf Chalksticks) #19 Graptopetalum pentandrum - EDIT: Actually more likely G. superbum #22 Sedum adolphii (Golden Sedum), instead of Coppertone Sedum? Looking forward to anyone's feedback about replanting and ID'ing these! Thanks!