Odds and ends

[cactuswatcher]

One unhappy fact of life in Phoenix is that winter is weed season. With the heavy rains we've had this year it's especailly bad. My cactus garden in back is swimming in winter grass. Most of the neighborhood is getting rid of its grass front yards, but my next door neighbor put in winter grass again this year which the birds spread everywhere. The front of my house is not so bad. The gravel in main part of the old lawn hasn't been in long enough to collect enough dust for anything to root in. The stuff around the edges under the bushes and between yards is another story. I've discovered a fairly effective if labor intensive way to deal with the problem and get any weed encouraging root thatch out of the gravel. I just finished working on the biggest patch out front this morning. I got a surprise when I found a tiny ball of a cactus growing among the other small weeds out front. That's odd becuse I have no cactus whatsoever in the front of the house. It's about the size of a small marble, not big enough to tell for sure what kind it is, but I think its seed came from one of mine in back that blooms frequently. Each flower barely lasts from mid morning till sunset, but for a smallish cactus it has a lot of them. It's had little red fruit a number of times and the fruit disappears, indicating birds are carrying it away. The chances of a non-native cactus sprouting and getting to this size are pretty small. But, this one beat the odds. Anyway the little guy has been safely removed to a bowl on the back patio while I do great bodily harm to its leafy former neighbors. I'm also replacing some of the old water intensive plants out front with more desert friendly varieties. So by the end of next week there may well be a much bigger and tougher cactus where I found the tiny one this morning.


NBC news reported tonight that the US army had spent several thousand dollars on exploring Star Trek style beaming/teleportation to move troops and fighting vehicles around. It could have been worse, they could have spent millions, and they did get an honest answer from the contractor that it wasn't likely to work anytime soon. It just shows if you're willing to pay someone to prove how dumb you are, someone somewhere will gladly give you your money's worth.


So Cheryl, are you happy with your new look?


And while I'm at it Happy Chinese New Year!!!

Comments

[scrollgirl.livejournal.com]

I would love Trek-style transporters. No way do I think we're anywhere near ready for them though!

Happy new year to you too, CW!