“The Sacrifice”

ESPatch Nov 10, 2009 16 comments

photo curtesy of Dave http://www.flickr.com/photos/grizdave/

The strangest thing happened to me the other day…

Hiking in an uncharted patch of the Patch, I noticed that I was ascending, I climbed steadily uphill for about two solid hours. I suddenly came to a clearing on top of a huge rock, it seems my rock was one of three holey rocks in the range, towering up out of the lower jungle verbena canopy. Stunned by the breathtaking view I sat down for a brief rest and one of my first ripe satsumas. In the far off distance my eyes were drawn to a small wisp of fire smoke on the valley floor, could it be another faction of the Naboo tribe perhaps?

Curiosity got the better of me, I had to find out. I checked my rations and decided although not enough, I would find some food on the way. I saw a small trail to the side of me that looked like it wound its way down the rock-face in front of me.

I checked my compass, pulled up my long socks – “English style” (just below the knee, just high enough to look totally ridiculous)…

and set off down the holey rock escarpment. I descended this Texas holey rock to a ledge, where, to my surprise, I found an enormous rope bridge stretching all the way across the valley to another one of the rocky mountains, I decided to make the perilous crossing across this rickety bridge. Who could have built such a structure? Where would it lead?

As I ventured down the length of the bridge I noticed that it terminated on the far side inside a cave.

Photograph by joint British-Vietnamese Caving Expedition 2009 / Barcroft Media Ltd.

A rather large cave as it turned out. There were a lot of strange subterranean creatures lurking in the shadows, and lots and lots of moths, attracted to the torch I had just lit. I have never had as many moths as I have had this year, they are everywhere in the patch right now, clouds of them.

That is quite the hair cut.

What incredible camouflage this moth had on this old Post Oak leaf

The cave had one rather annoying inhabitant that would not shut up about a ring. I quickly threw him a fish from my backpack (which struck me as very odd, as I had no recollection where it came from or how it got in their) and headed toward the cave exit.

Emerging out of the cave there was some really dense, tropical foliage. Sago palms, and potato vines made walking a lot harder.

Clambering through a dense thicket of Fatsia japonica I could see the small white flower clusters developing, getting ready for an end of year bloom.

Just like the fragrant mist flowers these also make the flies and insects go wild. I have four of these, they make great foliage fillers and add a really tropical appearance, with their large glossy leaves.

And what funky, poached-egg flower structures they have.

Continuing forward I found the small trail again, which led me to this, I can only assume it is some ancient temple of architectural significance. It looks like the central tower is a messaging beacon of sorts, although it was presently unlit, I could see what looked like the burnt remains of a fire at the very top.

As I was marveling at the Agave temple, the heavens suddenly opened up,

This Familiar Bluet damsel fly took refuge under this overhead canopy.

I took shelter and ate some Barbados cherries picked from a nearby bush. Pulling my jacket tightly around me I shut my eyes and rested.

I awoke to this motley crew, banging their spears on the ground, and wearing what looked to be modified chimineas as rather cumbersome headdresses. My eyes focused in on the particularly silly looking mask in the background, it’s jolly expression disturbing me to the core. What WAS this tribe… Naboo in ancient origin perhaps? I tried a few mouth clicks combined with some rudimentary tribal gestures that I knew, but they garnered no response, in fact they bound and gagged me, ensuring I did no more. I needed Bob at Draco Gardens to appear, with his superior tribal translation talents.

They tied me up to a log and transported me through the verbena jungle…I feared the worst. My anxiety rose even more as we passed these tiny impaled bodies.

I felt nauseous. Looking up at all these gummy corpses. Was this to be my fate in the Patch? Impaled on a massive sacrificial barrel cactus like a gummy bear?

I screamed out, then screamed some more Ahhhhhhhh! then…

…I must have woken my wife up uttering the words…“No, no, click clack …please..click…nooooooo”! Because the next thing I remember is being jabbed in the ribs, and hearing: “Your having a bad dream and quit all your mouth clicking! it is four in the morning, your going to wake the kids!”

That explains how Gollom’s fish got into my backpack.

“That was one crazy night, huh D?”

Happenings happening in the Patch this week…

The late afternoon sun seemed captured in this small purple Philippine violet vessel.

Barleria cristata

The aesthetically sharp top foliage of this plant is almost aloe-like in form, a great contrast to the soft, purple trumpet blooms. A dependable performer. I just wish the blooms lasted a little longer, they bloom and drop quite fast it seems.

I have been trying to get a shot of one of these large wasps for quite some time. They have been visiting my amaranth from the moment it started to bloom. The most unnerving thing about these wasps is not only their sheer size, (this one was a smallish one) but the way they scurry around…they are extremely agile. I assumed that they would also be fast to sting, so I have been approaching them from afar, at arms length with the camera. Today though I managed to get in closer, and it did not mind at all.

These are cicada killer wasps., and they can get to1-½ to 2 inches in length.

Sphecius speciosus (Drury)

These wasps are large, solitary, ground dwelling wasps that provision their homes with cicadas after stinging and paralyzing them. Larvae feed only on cicadas, and the adult will feed on flower nectar.

Fly away cicada, fly away!

Artemisia and Cosmos…ice and fire

A fall gathering.

This Desert Trumpet Vine, just continues to bloom and bloom. Bumper year this year. These flower clusters are about a foot around.

I want to finish with this very intestinal potato vine, just to gross you out before saying …

“FRREEEDOOOOM”!

You didn’t think this post could escape this sacrifice did you?

Stay Tuned for:

“The Company of Wolves”

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“Silence is Golden”

ESPatch Nov 6, 2009 21 comments

Continued… As I leaned forward, duct tape at the ready, her botoxed lips reverberated with every exhale, showering me with an extraordinary amount of saliva. She was still fast asleep, or so I thought, but I began to worry…would the adhesive work with such an abundance of moisture? I soldiered on, ever closer. It seemed the whole garden fell silent, it was if every creature in the ESP was completely stationary, waiting to see what would happen next…

The brown-nosers didn’t twitch a nasal hair, the carver bees put down their chisels in the fragrant mist flowers, burying their heads in the pollen filled flowers as if not daring to watch the scene unfold.

This newly hatched dinosaur could not believe what he was witnessing as his first visual scenes fresh out of his egg, an egg sac that was still at this point…

attached onto his hind leg, this poor little anole was having to drag it around with him.

“Huh? What? Oh do not even think about it! Izzard ESP…Izzard“!

The Paper wasps high up in the adjacent amaranth decided to just turn their backs, the suspense was also too much for them it seems.

Just as I was about to strike with the tape, the Botox lady’s large, cat-like eyes opened wide! Uh Oh!

She opened her mouth in retort, and just before she screamed out in her loud Austrian accent, I had an uncustomary moment of pure clarity…yes…it might just work… I leaned in and whispered into her sea-shell ear four words that immediately got her undivided attention…“Shhh, Its bulk collection day,” which coincidentally was the same day as the shoot!

She was so quiet during the CTG film shoot, nobody knew she was even there, not even Linda!

Not a single lip-flapping, saliva spitting, napkin mopping lip-peep!

Silence IS Golden.

Other strange happenings in the Patch this week:

“Captain, it appears we have a Euclea delphinii – Euclea , on the starboard bow”

Spiny Oak-Slug Moth

This is a stinging caterpillar, it looks like it would be! This caterpillar looks like it would be as happy on a coral reef as it would be on a variety of trees. Amazing patterns and shapes, I found this “kling-on” resting on top of my recycling bin, situated under a large Post Oak tree.

“Sounds like my kind of caterpillar eh Eddie.”

The larvae in this group are unique in that they are leg-less. Many have stinging spines. These have to be among some the most beautiful caterpillars out there! They also come in a rainbow of different colors and designs, this one just happens to be lime green and orange.

Image taken from rustyblackbird’s photostreamunder the creative commons attribution-non-commercial-no derivative 2.0 licence

Here is the small moth the larvae grows into. I have still yet to see one in person.

“”Who loves ya, baby? You know this next one is my favorite ESP”…

Cigar Plant,

Cuphea ignea

The species name ignea is Latin for fire.

The cigar plant is native to Mexico and the islands of the West Indies. It is a relatively fast grower and requires little attention. It is also a party place for all manner of butterflies and hummingbirds, they love these tubular flowers. I like the foliage, (imagine that), they are very tropical, with an abundance of leaves that grow all the way down the plants stem, for an added layering effect.

Here is my Barbados cherry, also providing some color right now with all it’s red berries…although they never last very long on the plant, at least, not in the Patch…

The shiny red ones are harvested it seems as fast as their color changes. The Artemisia, Powis Castle, hill in the background has really filled in with the recent rains.

I caught this minute translucent spider throwing up his huge arms in aggressive indignation on the approach of the camera lens, on one of my Jewels of Opar? (Oh yes, I will find a way of getting this plant into yet another post).

Look at that peeping eye! Now this has to be the smallest stink-eye caught on camera, ever! Oh you can beat it? Oh and is that really an eye?

Here he is scurrying away at high speed from the camera. He actually shot a Spider-Man line of silk to expedite his escape to an adjacent branch.

My fragrant mistflowers have finally started to decline after an illustrious display of grandeur this year, I guess conditions have been just about perfect for this plant.

I still think the plant is aromatically challenged though Pam :-)

This Mexican Lime tree has also been a solid producer this year, we have had limes from this tree all summer long, and there are still plenty ripening as you can see. This tree has really grown a lot this year, it is actually starting to finally look like a mature citrus tree…almost!

Purple in the Patch. Anyone know what the dark purple plant with the broad leaves is in the foreground?

Moving around to the front of the ESP…

Sago and Opuntia climbing to new heights, oh yes I will have my Opuntia tree, won’t I Germi? I recently planted these three Agave americana pups around this scene to add a splash of spiky drama. The soil in this part of the patch is particularly nasty, I thought these guys should be able to handle the adverse conditions, and wanted to get them started. The color and form of the agaves should work well with the darkness of the sago in the background. This hell-strip will eventually be dug down a little and the soil replaced with decomposed granite, one bit of the hell-strip at a time, that is what I say!

“I find myself completely disagreeing with that final statement ESP. Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer to finish the hell-strip first, then progress to the rest of the garden, and I do like to think of myself as having a bit of a red thumb”.

Stay Tuned for: