La versión español está después de la versión inglés.
OUR VISIT YESTERDAY TO THE garden center, Viveros Guzman, was a success. Our walk around the multiple interconnected green houses was, of course, different this time. Wearing masks and plastic gloves, keeping our distance. It takes getting used to. But we appreciate the care being taken (and required if they want to do business).
We bought three more hibiscus to add to our collection. Plus some geraniums for a planter that’s been sitting empty for a while. Master Planter San Geraldo has his work cut out for him. He also had to lift the heavy bags of soil (which he calls dirt) into our two carts, then transfer them to the car, and then carry them all upstairs. Sciatica is good for something. (No, I don’t really enjoy not being the muscle.)
As I reached into my bag for my camera once we were home, I found that we had been given a free gift (or maybe it was an escapee). That’s it at the top of this page. I tossed it in my bathroom sink; I had unwittingly picked the little slimy thing up with my bare fingers!!! MY BARE FINGERS!!! It was a slug; and there was nothing sluggish about it. I quickly photographed it, ran hot water, and watched it go down the drain. Now I’m afraid to brush my teeth.
SPEAKING OF WHICH, DID I ever tell you about San Geraldo’s pet alligator? When we were kids, you could order baby alligators by mail. San Geraldo was given one as a gift. It ran away one day, never to be found again. But, this was South Dakota, so there were no concerns it would survive and grow to ginormous proportions.
Anyway, SG’s sister Linda is convinced to this day that Alice, their mother, flushed the baby alligator down the toilet. Every time she heard the accusation, Alice would gasp and say, “Do you think I would have ever sat on that stool again?!?”
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NUESTRA VISITA AYER A LOS Viveros Guzmán, fue un éxito. Nuestro paseo por los múltiples invernaderos interconectados fue, por supuesto, diferente esta vez. Usando máscarillas y guantes de plástico, manteniendo nuestra distancia. Se necesita acostumbrarse. Pero apreciamos el cuidado que se está tomando (y se requiere si quieren hacer negocios).
Compramos tres hibiscos más para agregar a nuestra colección. Además de algunos geranios para una maceta que ha estado vacía por un tiempo. El maestro plantador San Geraldo tiene su trabajo hecho para él. También tuvo que levantar las pesadas bolsas de tierra en nuestros dos carros, luego transferirlas al coche, y luego llevarlas todas arriba. La ciática es buena para algo. (No, realmente no disfruto no ser el músculo).
Cuando busqué mi cámara en mi bolso una vez que estábamos en casa, descubrí que nos habían dado un regalo gratis (o tal vez era un fugitivo). Eso está en la parte superior de esta página. Lo tiré en el lavabo del baño; ¡Inconscientemente había recogido la pequeña cosa viscosa con mis dedos desnudos! Mis dedos desnudos !!! Era una babosa. Rápidamente lo fotografié, abrí agua caliente, y lo vi caer por el desagüe. Ahora tengo miedo de lavarme los dientes.
HABLANDO DE ESO, ¿ALGUNA VEZ te conté sobre el cocodrilo mascota de San Geraldo? Cuando éramos niños, podías pedir cocodrilos bebés por correo. San Geraldo recibió uno como regalo. Se escapó un día, para nunca ser encontrado de nuevo. Pero, eso era Dakota del Sur, por lo que no había dudas de que sobreviviría y crecería en proporciones descomunales.
De todos modos, la hermana de SG, Linda, está convencida hasta el día de hoy que Alice, su madre, arrojó el cocodrilo bebé por el inodoro. Cada vez que escuchaba la acusación, Alice jadeaba y decía: “¿¡¿Crees que alguna vez me habría sentado en ese inodoro?!?”
Fotos de los viveros proximamente.
Ever wonder who was more surprised you or the slug?
David:
I didn’t give it a thought. I did, however, notice that the slug could move really fast. Wasn’t expecting that.
I hope you don’t get into trouble for aiding and abetting the escape of a garden center employee!
Bob:
We’ll just keep it between us. OK? Then again, he wasn’t wearing a mask and I’m sure they wouldn’t want THAT to get out.
we have slugs in the back yard. we leave them alone.
pretty colorful flowers too.
and SG is correct, it’s DIRT! I don’t touch dirt; I’m a city kid who grew up with concrete.
anne marie:
SG grew up in a farm family (although he only spent summers on family farms). He should appreciate the difference between dirt and potting soil. I don’t touch dirt, but I do touch potting soil.
These beauties ought to brighten up your terrace. Love hibiscus!
I’ve been ‘hardening off’ ours daily to get them used to the sun and temperature from bing in basement all winter.
Jim:
SG potted them all yesterday. They look beautiful. Love having color on the terrace, and we don’t have to winter them over. They bloom almost all year here.
Lovely hibisci, or however you pluralize it… hibiscides?
wickedhamster:
I never DO pluralize the word. Hibuscuses. But it sounds so peculiar. (I love the sound of hibiscides.) Dominoes hibiscum, my son.
Have an orange hibiscus in a very large container that we overwinter in a heated garage, along with a slew of banana trees. The hibiscus is now so big and wide that I can’t get it on the deck (have to move it with a hand truck), so it is hanging out in the yard this year alongside the replanted banana trees.
As for the slug…at least you don’t live in Guam where it isn’t uncommon for snakes to come up through the toilets. Talk about a bathroom phobia. Ugh.
Mary:
We never overwintered anything when we lived in colder climates. What a treat to haul those plants out in spring. Here, hibiscus blooms year-round. It’s become the standard hedge plant in the city. Snakes coming up through the toilets?!? I would be SO anal-retentive!
The hibiscus are nice, but I need to give a shout out to the geraniums! I’ve never seen any that look like that. That poor slug. Just sitting there minding his own business when a giant grabs him and takes him home, only to send him down the drain. Poor little thing.
You know Deedles what will happen? That poor unsuspecting slug went down the drain into the drainage system….where it will feed on all kinds of toxic and organic chemicals and earthly resources for years and one day will break through the streets and wreak havoc and destroy the cities, and smothering everything in slime!!!!!!!! Eeeeeeeeeeek!
I ain’t dumb, I watch many hours of syfy movies.
I think I saw this movie but it involved a very slow moving blob.
Deedles:
Well, everyone knows about the giant alligators swimming around New York’s sewer system.
Mistress Maddie:
And don’t think that hasn’t crossed my mind.
I wondered what was going to befall us in September, the giant slugs will break through the streets to continue the theme of 2020
Deedles:
Aren’t those geraniums beautiful? We had to have them. I think that little slug stowed away when I wasn’t looking. And I TOUCHED IT! With my bare FINGERS!
Baby alligator by mail? WTF kind of insanity…oh yeah, it was the USA (sorry for the dig bit so much fucking insanity there right now)
Cheapchick:
Oh, you never need to apologize for the digs! But, yeah, they used to advertise baby alligators for sale in the backs of comic books. Then, alligators were placed on the endangered list, and that practice stopped. (And you couldn’t make alligator shoes and handbags anymore.) But, it worked and they’re no longer endangered. One of the most popular souvenirs from Florida when I was a kid was a stuffed baby alligator.
I have an taxidermied alligator head on my desk in the office. Most people find it gross, a few find it fascinating.
David:
We had a taxidermied rattle snake we bought in South Dakota. We were regularly required to move it when we had guests. Most people couldn’t stand having it in the same room with them. I wanted one of those alligators (the stuffed ones). The Duchess said NO>
That yellow hibiscus is a beauty. Well, they all are, but somehow the red deep in the throat just makes that yellow flower special. Can’t believe you actually picked up a slug with your bare fingers. What were you thinking, Mitchell?
Wilma:
The yellow is what I was hoping to find. Our flower kiosk hasn’t had them. Also, the double flowers are so elegant. And, I wasn’t thinking when I picked up that slug… and I can’t STOP thinking now. It gives me the creeps.
Beautiful flowers! And poor slug — although I can’t really blame you. (I’m surprised you even have slugs there, actually — seems like it would be too dry for them?)
Steve:
I can’t remember seeing slugs around our neighborhood. I suppose that garden center was a bit of paradise. And, yes, poor slug. I actually did feel guilty when I drowned him (OH god I HOPE I drowned him…)
I needed those today. I would like lovely in one of my wigs.
Mistress Maddie:
I assume you’re talking about the hibiscus flowers and NOT the slug.
Probably related to the one we found in our Cauliflower 😂😂😂
Tynan:
Oh, I completely forgot about that!
Poor slug and baby alligator — I hope they both survived the watery trip and went on to thrive elsewhere. Those hibiscus are gorgeous.
Debra:
If the slug DID survive, I hope it doesn’t come crawling back up the pipes. As for the alligator, he’d be about 60 years old now. I know I couldn’t survive for 60 years in South Dakota! SG potted the hibiscus(es) yesterday. They look stunning. Will share photos as they all bloom.
It’s funny… we eat snails, but the thought of eating a slug is kinda gross.
Walt the Fourth:
Well, YOU eat snails. I say, “You know, that’s simply a slug in a shell!”
Poor little snail, lovely little thing.
larrymuffin:
If I find more, I promise to ship them to you for safe keeping.