this one came to us unexpectedly, on a pot that had another plant on it. when this weird little sprout started growing in a funny shape, we put it in its own vase and low and behold, it was its own thing!
the circles at the end of each leave are baby plants that fall out of the mother when they’re ready, taking root and earning it the nickname “mother of thousands”…
if it stays true to its name, i guess we’ll soon have a baby boom around here! :D
has it really been 20 years? :|
i was a wide-eyed 16 year old, in awe of all the cool things happening around me, just then realizing how much there was to see and discover in the world. good times.
i don’t particularly like cactus, but succulents are a different story. there’s something very pleasing about their almost fractal beauty, and the thick and robust leaves. plus, i accidentally found out that we can actually grow them outdoors here (more or less easily) so i’ve started a little collection of sorts.
i’m learning about it as i go along, making mistakes and seeing what works. i don’t know if this interests anyone, but i thought i’d write about it now and then, in order to keep a record of our experiments.
first up, this echeveria “perle von nürnberg” (i think?) that i traded my parents for some cuttings of our passionfruit.
isn’t it pretty? it was almost dead when it came to me, but has since decided to grow enthusiastically in the center, and i think it might about to start flowering even!
i look forward to putting it in the garden once it gets a bit stronger, and maybe even try to propagate it at some point.
that time we went to granada and i found out someone with my name has been busy writing children books…
i really wish i had saved this card to send them! what have your namesakes been up to?
some time ago, we were talking with a friend who works with kids at risk — many of whom the parents seem to have simply given up on as “too much trouble”… and it got me thinking about the long run.
whether you’re raising kids or doing something else, the long run is always where it hurts. the beginnings feast on our initial enthusiasm, but keeping it up over time requires work and putting the hours in. it’s made of tears and struggle and the sheer boringness of maintenance.
i can get really enthusiastic about new ideas, so inevitably, i end up struggling with the long run, as i believe most of us do. our blogs are filled with links to projects that have disappeared, stuff that stopped being updated, and i’m guilty enough of giving up on stuff too. interests and priorities change, the enthusiasm dries up… and after the initial burst of energy is exhausted, things naturally come to a stop.
and yet, sometimes, they don’t. sometimes, there’s someone who won’t quit, who will put in the effort, day in and day out, because they believe in something strongly enough to pace themselves.
when you think about it, behind every kid that turns out great, or behind every project that turns 10 (or 20!), there are always humans who were relentless and didn’t quit — and that’s remarkable and worth celebrating.
