Ariocarpus Retusus and Ariocarpus Trigonus

I bought my first ariocarpus several years ago, maybe around 2005 or earlier, an ariocarpus retusus, and it just sort of sat there. Time passed and it finally grew enough to be repotted. Then last year in the fall it surprised me with a bloom. And then this year,...

Spammers Should Be Shot

No kidding. Spammers and litterbugs are two categories of irresponsible, reprehensible jerks that are just taking up valuable space and not contributing anything worthwhile to society. I’ll get to litterbugs another day. Today I choose to vent about the bane of my...

Mammillaria Spinosissima v. Pilcayensis

When I bought this little cactus probably in  2008 or so-unfortunately that was when I wasn’t keeping up with details like names and dates-it was just two little cylindrical plants about two inches long attached at the base and forming a V-shape. I had nothing...
Lucille Liles, 1920-2013

Lucille Liles, 1920-2013

If you read last week’s installment, you know we traveled to Ft. Smith, Arkansas, to pay our last respects to Lucille, Bill’s dad’s second wife. She and Bill’s dad, also named Bill, married on the day of our daughter Caroline’s birth. She was always just his dad’s...

Moving in for the Winter

Our first cold front is due this coming week-end, predicted to fall into the 30s by Saturday, October 5th or Sunday night, the 6th. Up here the smart thing to do is move plants in at least by mid-October to avoid the fun of moving them in during blizzard conditions,...