On the old crate: a shot for this meme.
The other afternoon I was trying to take photos of an Aloe elgonica and its new little bloomstalk [ay caramba, what a disaster — remind me never to attempt a Bloom Day post] when I spotted this jumble. I meant to photograph only the tephrocacus segments but wound up with a bit more. (Slightly less blurry than the aloe, yay!)
The plant tag is from fellow Gates club member Rob Roy MacGregor (club meeting tonight, plants will be sold, note to self: take cash); the all-metal trowel has been in the family for as long as anyone can remember; the old garden-claw/hand cultivator and transplanter-style trowel were gifts from my sister; and the folding pruning saw is another tool that's been in the family since the Flood. Cactus, plant sales, gardening and fambly, how about that :~)
I love the personal connection you have to these tools. That makes it a very special photo. BTW, that tephrocactus is a wolf in sheep's clothing as far as I'm concerned (like so many opuntoids). I've gotten quite a few glochids stuck in my fingers from foolishly handling it with bare hands.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I LOL'ed (sympathetically!) at your comment about the tephrocactus. Opuntias with big spines don't scare me nearly as much as the ones like O. basilaris, that seem to broadcast glochids if you so much as look in their direction. I've been lucky with the tephrocacus -- so far...
DeleteEnjoy your meeting! Cool vignette.
ReplyDeleteYes, thanks! Taking an ocotillo to trade.
DeleteWhat a great collection of tools! And how nice that a few are family heirlooms. A few years ago, an old neighbor who had spent her life in the same house moved into a nursing home. Her son gave me this wonderful spade. Every time I use it, I marvel at how wonderful it feels to use. Hooray for good tools - they really don't make them like they used to!
ReplyDeleteAnd they last! I come from a family that loves to garden, and feel very connected to all of them as I tackle gardening projects of my own. My sister lives in San Jose, and has a great eye for found objects -- she picked up those two items at Goat Hill Fair. Thanks for visiting!
DeleteGuard them well. I was heartbroken when I lost one of my dad's old tools in the school wood shop. Looked high and low, and even put up flyers, but apparently someone else liked it too. :(
DeleteOh, no! I know exactly how you feel :~(
DeleteFunny, at first I thought the tephrocacus segments were cones from a conifer. Tells you what part of the country I live in doesn't it?
ReplyDelete"Pine cone cactus," indeed! These are T. articulatus var. inermis ([mostly] spineless, yay). Gotta love these guys, they're tough and so easy to propagate. Segments fall off if you look hard at them...
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