Australian and New Zealand Gardening: BROMELIADS FOR NOVICES & ADDICTS - NOVEMBER 2012, 2 by perke_patch

perke_patch wrote:
Hi all. ..... well at least Nev and Trish. thanks for your comments re Max. Nev we are positive the off days were because of the drugs and a reaction to them or the huge dose he was on. Today with him only having 5mg of steroids for last couple days instead of 20mg we were told to give him... well today he was his normal happy self. Johnny took him for a swim this morning and he followed us around all day. he was barking at sirens and just a normal happy dog. That's how we want the rest of his life to be and when it's no longer like that we'll make the decision to end it for him. Not looking forward to living with Johnny when that happens. I know he is going to be strange for a while. I know that's a funny way of putting it but ......

I think we got a bit high last night. The young kid living next door with his grandma had some mates around. They were all sitting out the back smoking and talking. Johnny came in and asked me if I could smell anything. As soon as I walked out into the hall I could smell it too. very sickly sweet and as I got closer to the spare room where Emily sleeps the whole room was reeking with the smell. I think if she had been sleeping in there she would have been as high as a kite. And of course there was that one loud female voice that drove us crazy till they either flaked out or left. a couple of them walked away towards he park last night. But we paid them back this morning. We went downstairs early and started talking right beside the fence level with his bedroom. We decided to chiop down all the browned off cane fronds and seed pods. Johnny was going to mow but decided to leave it for early tomorrow morning just in case they carried on tonight but with it raining I don't think anyone will be sitting outside.

we did so much potting today. Johnny has installed a sprinkler system in the old shadehouse up the back and we have 9 rows of barbed wire filled with mini neos, till. lindenii, and other smaller plants so the sprinklers will help to keep them all watered and enough of the spray is even getting dow to the shelves below. So in the cleanup we discovered overflowing pots that had to be cleaned up and split up. I finally finished potting al lthe lindenii plants today so they could be hung up in there. In the clean up we discovered quite a few of the cansitrums flowering so they can go out next week for our sale the on 8-9th.

Nev I don't think I sent you any seeds of manoa beauty. the ones I gave Shirley was when she was here and I was trying to show her how to collect seeds from neos. the manoa beauty was the only one we were able to find seeds in. I've been thinking of all the missing mates who might be suffering with back pain like Colleen, Sue, you Nev and any others with back problems. I'v been sitting at the table often this week potting up seedlings and my back is killing me up nearer the shoulders. So Colleen I really hope you are on the mend now. we've missed hearing from you. It's been a while.

I know Jen has been reading posts but not posting any. she must have read about Max last night because she contacted me tonight to ask how he is. So lucky to have such a good friend willing to call round to check him when we have to be somewhere. She's a great aunty to our Max.

Tomorrow night I'll have some new pics to post as there are a couple of new epis with flowers developing. We noticed them this morning. I took the camera down this afternoon thinking one of them would have opened up today but not yet. It will be opened in the morning though if the rain doesn't damage it. Looks like it will be a very dark red. Pics tomorrow to share with you all.
Off to bed now. talk again tomorrow night. Pic is our blood lily flowering again. this is the most we've ever had. each year we say we will split it up but we were told when you disturb the bulbs they sulk for a year and will not flower so we didn't do it again.

Wendy