Thursday, October 23, 2014

orphaned orchids

What a beautifully odd day!

But I wont start with that. My initial question for you is this-- now that you're older (and you are all older than you were a few years or decades ago), knowing what you know about your habits, fears, strengths and eccentricities, do you ever think about the job you may have been well suited for, but somehow never followed?

When I was twelve and had to fill in the first pages of my autograph book (remember those?), I wrote, in answer to the question -- what do you want to be when you grow up? -- reporter. I was thinking today how, in fact, maybe that's not altogether a bad insight. Possibly wrong, but possibly not so wrong after all, especially if I think expansively about the term.


Alright. Back to the order of the day. It began before breakfast, with the morning shower. I realized that my hair is getting too long. So I asked Ed, even though he had yet to study up on this new for him set of skills -- could you cut my hair please?


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He did. I asked for an inch and a half, he took off three and then asked -- was that too much? 
No. Hair grows back. Nearly all that you mess up in life has some lasting effect on someone or something, but hair -- it grows back.


After breakfast (in the front room today!)...


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...I went out to do my weekly grocery shopping and, too, I went to Orchids by the Ackers (a place that  -- you guessed it, sells orchids) to re-pot my very huge cymbidium. I'd been a visitor to this nursery for decades. Indeed, the orchids I was bringing in were originally from there and they had already been repotted by them once before, some years back.

I offered them the greater chunk of my cymbidium plants. They really bloom profusely come spring, but I'm not a strong fan of the flower. I don't want many pots of this same bloom: it has a brown and green edging. Quaint, but not as cheerful as, say, pink and yellow. But, the orchid growers declined. Indeed, they told me, they were moving away from selling cymbidium orchids altogether.

Why? Why?!? 
Because no one wants to buy them.

I imagine it has something to do with instant gratification. You wont have it with these plants. You need to do stuff before they bloom for you. Feed them, and more importantly, give them night after night of cold temps. But not really cold temps. Just like between 44 and 48 degrees f. Weeks on end of that.

And so what do I do? Instead of offloading my huge plants (or portions of them), I take home three of their own...


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....knowing that I will never be buying cymbidium, or most likely any orchid from them again. First, foster chickens...


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("is she talking about us?")




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("no, me.")




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("how could anyone say bad things about you, oreo?")


...now orchids. When will I learn?


Evening. We go to our local farmers market. I have to say, given the temperatures, the wetness, the lack of crowds, I think all vendors will be glad when the outdoor markets are done for the year (next week).


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At home, I scramble cheeper eggs. The hens are all laying again, though with less enthusiasm and less regularity. It's as if they, too, really want the break that winter affords.

16 comments:

  1. I fell so far behind. I've just read several days' worth of Ocean. Could make so many comments but can't remember them. ;-) I don't think I'd heard the story of yours and Ed's beginnings together, a delightful tale.

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    1. Since Ocean just sort of rolls along, there's no such thing as falling behind! Even if you missed something tangible, it's not likely that it wont come up again in some future post. Tally forth! (Which is sort of the way I treat FaceBook, possibly missing important announcements and events, but oh well!)

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  2. Where is the "after" picture of your haircut? I so like your attitude about haircuts.

    When I was young, I dreamed of having a farm. Instead I spent 30 plus years in a Fortune 500 company in sales and marketing. We now have ten acres and I have a native plant nursery, selling at farmers' markets and events. I think that you too have returned to your youthful dream, as I read your reports daily. You are just a features and travel reporter, not a news reporter.

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    1. Martha F -- I did consider putting up a photo, especially for giggle value, as when I asked Ed if the strands on both sides of the face were even, he said "no." But I decided the pics will come soon enough. Surely there will be photos in the weeks before us!

      You are correct on the reporting point: not news. Features and essays on people and places. Ahhhhh.....

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  3. I was thinking the same thing as Martha... you being a travel reporter... and also - the "after" haircut picture... c'mon Nina! You lured us in but didn't show.... how cruel!

    I'm wondering if Oreo is settling in for the winter there?

    Paul's farmer's market days have ended for this year. Tomorrow was to be his last day but with our recent Nor'Easter that kept him home from lobstering most of this week, he has no product to sell! So that's it for this year.

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    1. How many months is he off the waters? Is he always relieved when he pauses with lobstering? (I know he works hard on repairs in winter months.)

      I will speculate on the Oreo question in today's post!

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  4. Gosh, I wanted to do several things as time passed. First I wanted to be a cowgirl (I would get to ride horses), then a veterinarian (I would get to save animals), a nurse, marine biologist, and then a therapist. Zero. I ended up working with the differently abled.

    I agree with the above, you are a reporter. A reporter of many things. It looks like we are looking for a hair report....

    Autograph books!!!!! Yes, I remember them well and surprised I did not somehow hold onto one or my mother who held everything.

    I really like the little chickens on the table. I saw a small rooster statue the other day and almost got it but then held back because I have tooooo many things as it is but it was tempting. Every home needs a chicken of some kind!

    No one wants cymbidiums!? Dad would not understand. He grew plenty. He had his greenhouse set up so he had three levels with different temperatures. He was very proud of his white cattleyas in winter. Apparently he baffled the orchid club with them as well and walked off with ribbons. Sis has beautiful cymbidiums. I'm glad you enlarged the family.

    Oreo, despite his mood swings, is a good looking rooster. The photo of Ed and Oreo is priceless.

    The farmer's market set ups look like work, work, work. Very similar to doing craft shows.

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    1. Nora - which of those early fantasies would have been a pretty accurate fit? Any of them?

      With chickens -- I think little rooster carvings and pillow covers embroidered with hens are both fitting for a farmhouse and far easier to maintain than the actual birds! But then, I see how devoted you are to birds, so maybe not for you...

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    2. Nina, none of the early choices because working with animals probably would have made me too sad. I would have wanted to save every one and that is just not realistic. Therapist was an older choice and one I should have stuck with. It would have been more useful. Next life time. Although I would not mind being a well educated journalist!

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  5. I have Blood of an Englishman from the library and it is terrible. I mean I'm not able to continue past page 5. Hope that was your opinion too. I like an English cozy, but it must be well-written, for heavens sake. How do these mediocre people ever get published?

    And as long as I'm grumpy, let me mention that I began Bebe, and got an off-putting vibe. Tell you why. In her first chapter, she gives a little background on herself, and it seems clear that she was floundering about in her life, looking for a hook for a book. So it's like being made to eat your cold vegetables (something with which I have had some early experience). But I will give her a fair chance another day when I am feeling more receptive.

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    1. I did not get beyond page one on the Blood book. Awful. My other (!) literary friend put me on the Hazel Holt cozies. Good stuff! I'm on book one so far.
      But I'll stick by the author of Bebe. She has written several good articles for the NYTimes this last month, touching on both culture and teaching self discipline in children (and by extension -- adults). I think she is quite a thorough reporter and a very good writer and she has a humble air about her that works for me.

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  6. I love the farmer's market! There aren't many like that, with local fresh produce, in Ontario. Most of the produce at the "farmer's markets" here is from the Ontario Food Terminal, the same as the grocery stores, where it is less expensive. London Ontario has an excellent farmer's market just outside of town, I miss it!

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    1. Maggie -- your comment about Ontario surprises me. I don't know why, but I always imagined that Canadians were ahead of us in terms of valuing fresh produce.
      Maybe it's the weather issue?

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  7. When I was 12 or 13ish I took a career profiling test and scored 99% inclination to work in forestry. It's not always the case, but I think of career choices in forestry as involving isolation - especially if located in large parks. Isn't it interesting that I live in a large woods now - and lead an isolated life. I think I would've been well-suited. I also had designs on joining the Peace Corps but my parents wouldn't permit it. :) Just several years ago I started application for the Peace Corps - seniors is a market they've enthusiastically tapped into. Alas, it wasn't to be. But I am in my woods.

    The last several photos of the cheepers I've noticed Oreo separates himself from the others. Is he anti-social or elitist? I'm beginning to agree that perhaps he should move on - find a new herd to run with.

    I enjoy your posts so much. Looking forward to the new haircut debut.

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    1. Thank you, Irene B!

      Forestry! I agree: it's fitting. Peace Corps -- that's such a hit or miss. I've listened to so many reports! They spin around these two orbits: invaluable or a waste of time. But the access to health care, though promised on paper, is actually a serious issue, I think, for seniors. For juniors too, but especially for those who develop age related problems. Of course, I suppose it depends on where you go. I know a senior right now in Moldova who is doing quite well...

      Oreo always walks a tad behind. He is quite disabled: a bent leg that really doesn't help him much. He does better when he lunges -- putting the weight of his body into the attack. He's not very good at merely moving along. He hobbles and limps and it appears to be a great effort for him.

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    2. Well, the pity party for Oreo has just been rekindled with your update on his health. You're evicting a disabled rooster! Good God, woman!

      Regarding the Peace Corps... many of my friends concurred with your observations. They were horrified and frothed with cautionary tales that focused on health issues.

      I guess I'd primarily been influenced by two of my favorite neighbors in Laguna Beach. They were in their 70s when we met. Arnold Hanos had enjoyed a wonderful literary career in NYC in his younger days. I also think he and his wife, Bonnie, invented the art of tree hugging. Aside from jest, they were remarkable and saved many, many precious canyons in Laguna from development. As seniors, they'd served in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica - loved it so much they even built a second home there. Yet, so many of their stories made me a bit skittish - using public transportation from town to town to avoid ambush - never traveling at night. Personally, it never sounded like a place I'd want to build a getaway. But I loved the romance of their stories, the ideals, the humanitarian aspects. It was all so seductive. Since my diagnosis, I've been content with the many opportunities for outreach surrounding my own patch of the globe. xo

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