Our Thanksgiving cacti are flowering more and more, as you can see above. The pink ones are pretty much at peak bloom, I think.
They are a nice color. The one at work -- the parent plant to these -- is also blooming.
The salmon cactus is now in bloom as well...
...but the white one still just has buds, and I'm not sure the buds are growing. I think this one may hold back flowering again this year. We'll see. (As you can tell, some other stuff has taken root in its pot, a fern and another plant -- a violet? I've allowed them to remain but maybe they're part of the problem. Some repotting may be in order.)
Do you remember the lizard bookmark? (Probably not, but click back on that link and you will be reminded.) I've kept it hanging on the back of my computer at work, facing the kids as they check out books, for five years now. They are endlessly fascinated by it. One in particular has been asking me for years if he could have it. He started in 5th Grade and he's now in 7th. I've resisted all this time, but finally yesterday I relented and gave it to him. The end of an era!
(As I was typing this, though, I discovered I can order another one on Amazon. So never mind -- I'll get a replacement and keep the kids happy.)
Someone yesterday asked me why I haven't been responding to comments lately. I KNOW, I KNOW -- I am very behind. A thousand apologies. I will do my best to catch up. Frankly I'm never sure people go back and read responses, so they're the first thing I let slide when I get pressed for time, and with Dave ill and Olga at the vet on Monday and work and blah blah blah I just haven't had a chance. I've only read nine more pages of "Great Expectations" since Sunday! At this rate, my expectation is that I'll be finished on Valentine's Day!
The pink one is so very pretty. I don't always remember to go back to check a blog owner's response to my comments, especially if they are a daily blogger. I do like to respond to the first comment someone makes on one of my posts. Maybe you need to order a job lot of lizard bookmarks from Amazon.
ReplyDeleteWe understand that you are busy..just reading your blog shows us that! It's good that you can find a moment to step back and write.
ReplyDeleteThe lizard will be a good memory from school for that pupil.
Those flowering cactus!! Impressive. You are obviously good at caring for indoor plants..no. Re do that...good at caring for plants...and people.
Yes, I do do back and read other comments and replies. Even when I don't comment myself. After all no point commenting if what I would say has been said already!
Aw, not a very great expectation for the book. Life does get overwhelming at times. I love that you gave that boy the bookmark AND I love that you found another for yourself (and to share with everyone else).
ReplyDeleteThe salmon cactus is lovely. Never seen that colour.
ReplyDeleteI make a note ( pen and paper old fashioned style!) of any comments I have made and always go back next day to check if it has been acknowledged. I appreciate that you have been busy so you are excused recently! Some people never reply to comments ( which is disappointing to put it politely), and I wonder why I have bothered to comment.
When lying on your psychoanalyst's couch, the first question might be "Now when do you think your obsession with plants began?". This will no doubt precede a course of electric shock therapy.
ReplyDeleteI rarely go back to see if you commented, so no apologies to me needed.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate people who do reply to comments, but a lot of my blog friends have plenty of retirement time to do it. Your time is at a premium right now, so don't worry, we'll be here!
ReplyDeleteIt's one of those things. If people regularly respond, I typically go back to read them. If they don't, I just leave my comment and move on. I still go back and check to see for your responses but I also realize you've been pretty busy as well so I'm not going to hold your feet to the flames for not responding. You always get a lot of comments so I know it takes some time for all those responses.
ReplyDeleteI, too, so often wonder if people come back to read my responses to their comments but it's part of my routine to answer them so, I do it. Lovely cacti! I've never had much luck with succulents and isn't that odd? I do much better with the more tropical plants. I just started another avocado the other day and thought of you. It's from a Sebastian avocado, not a store-bought one.
ReplyDeleteYour cacti are all beautiful and I wonder if the white one might be a Christmas cactus! In fact, they may all be Christmas cacti and just bloom early!
ReplyDeleteI have had Easter and Christmas cacti and they are all primarily the same and they all get blooming time confused sometimes!
Your Thanksgiving cactus is simply stunning. I don't think I've ever seen one looking that beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThe elections are still up in the air here in AZ. The numbers keep going up and down which is very hard on the nerves.
I understand you are busy and I love to read your blog whether you comment or not. I do like it when you do have time to reply to my comments, tho. It is like we are penpals and it is a nice connection for me. I read all of the comments and all of your replies. It is fun to see the personalities come out in our witty quips! Thanks for posting, Steve, your cacti are fabulous! I have one but it has never bloomed like that!
ReplyDeleteReally lovely cactus blooms there. I'm surprised they're blooming so close to winter.
ReplyDeleteI went back and looked at the lizard bookmark. That really is quite a bookmark. I hope you get another one to show the next round of students.
I always reply to comments. I am retired, and I've got plenty of time for that stuff. I totally understand why it doesn't happen here as often. So much going on all the time there.
I always debate replying to comments. I check yours once in a while and then I forget. Sometimes we go through a very busy time and blogging has to be limited in some way. I think that's okay.
ReplyDeleteThat salmon-colored cactus flower is wonderful with it's fuschia highlights to set it off! I enjoy seeing what other readers of your blog have to say and any replies that you make. It's a slow motion conversation. I almost always go back to review the previous post. Reply if you can, but don't have a cow, man!
ReplyDeleteI try to check for responses to my comments, but I know you're super busy. Don't sweat it if you don't have time.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
I LOVE that lizard bookmark! I have a couple of those 3D-hologram types, but you're right...this one is especially effective.
ReplyDeleteI usually come back and look at replies, but don't worry if there aren't any. Life should take precedence.
That pink cactus is amazing - so pretty! I do come back to read replies, but I totally understand if you don't have time!
ReplyDeleteLove the lizard bookmark!
ReplyDeleteYou're such a good soul to gift it to the student who has long admired it.
Beautiful cacti!
Glad to hear Dave is on the mend. Please let us know how Olga's vet appointment went.
We (readers) do become "attached" to the pets of our favorite bloggers.
Stay safe & well.
I rarely comment here but read every day and yes, I read the comments and your replies as well!!
ReplyDeleteVery cool bookmark! And the cactus look amazing. I'm sure the white one will eventually bloom unless the buds dry up and fall off.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen a cactus with salmon flowers. That's beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWhat about this? You collect eye catching bookmarks from all over the world to hang off your computer and have a monthly giveaway? I've got two I can donate!
My mom's pink cactus is about as far along as yours is, and her white one is lagging behind by about a week, just as yours is. Giving your bookmark away was a kind thing to do. I hope the student keeps it for a long time.
ReplyDeleteAndrew: But if I bought them in bulk and everyone had one, they wouldn't be as special, would they?
ReplyDeleteGZ: That's my hope too -- that he'll look back on the bookmark given to him by the librarian as a fond memory. Maybe he'll even keep it! (More likely it will be lost tomorrow.)
Mitchell: All the kids talk about it when they're at my desk, so I didn't want to lose that enthusiasm!
Frances: I got that cactus at Homebase several years ago! You are a very diligent commenter. You keep me on my toes. :)
YP: Well, of all the obsessions to have, that one's pretty mild!
Debby: I suspect that's true for many people.
Boud: Well, I sometimes have downtime at work (like today) and can do it then. It's harder if work is busy.
Ed: I guess it makes sense that readers would know, more or less, whether to expect a reply or not.
Ms Moon: It's great to have an avocado tree with a personal connection to your life! I think overcaring for succulents is what usually kills them.
Marcia: Maybe! That would explain the slower blooming cycle.
Sharon: Oh, I can't imagine what it's like to live there and be going through this nail-biter of an election. It's stressful enough from here!
Ellen D: It's great that you read all the comments and all the replies. I guess that enhances your sense of blogland as a community. Of course I read all of MY comments but I don't always read comments on other blogs, which gets me in trouble when I repeat something someone already said previously!
Robin: Yeah, the blooming cycle is a bit of a mystery, but they're from the tropics so who knows how they're reading our seasons.
Red: Yeah, we all have to be flexible, don't we?
Wilma: I like that description: "A slow motion conversation." Yeah, the pink highlights on the salmon flowers really are nice, aren't they. I will try not to have a cow, a la Bart. :)
Janie: I'm not always busy but I do go through brief busy periods, like this week!
Kelly: It gives me a chance to tell the kids about lenticular prints. Not that they remember what I say. :)
Bug: It is a really nice color -- very intense.
Damselfly: Olga update in the following post! There's really not much to tell. She's plugging along as usual.
Merlot: Well, thank you for reading! I'm glad you comment once in a while to remind me you're out there. :)
Ellen: That's what they did last year, but the buds were also much smaller than these, so I'm hopeful. Cautiously optimistic, let's say.
Debby: THAT would be a fun contest! By all means, send 'em my way!
Jenny-O: Yeah, Frances sent me a photo of her white one and it's behind too. Maybe that variety just blooms a bit later. Fingers crossed!
Your cactus is so beautiful! I wish I could keep something like that alive!
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