Succulent

It's official: I'm a plant rescuer/rustler. In the last three days, I've done the following:

-Cut off and re-potted a few baby succelents - these were trimmed from a wild, dying "parent" plant. I told S. I was 'saving the baby plants" and to "shut up and give me your knife".

-Dug plants from one part of my yard and re-potted them in another. Hopefully it will work - I've already transplanted a couple of the same kind, and they are starting to flower - yeah! Now if only I knew the name of them ... Chiada? The tall blade-leafed ones with the orange flowers?

-Accepted with great joy two plants from my neighbor Sara - one of them is this funky, Dr. Suess looking thing that is currently sitting outside in the rain, seated in a plastic bag. I've not had a second to dig it a hole and plant it, so I guess this will be a bit of a baptism into life in The Great Outdoors. (Sara had it in this huge, cobalt-blue pot that I covet every time I go to her house.)

-Discovered a beeeeyouuutiful, gigantic agave plant that had been uprooted and laid on its side to die about a block from my house. I picked it up, but carrying it any distance was Not Going to Happen (the thing is probably at least sixty pounds, and about three feet or more in diameter, plus: Spikes! Unweildy!) especially while carrying an umbrella in the pouring rain. Oddly enough, I'd taken a picture of one of its cousins only yesterday, in a fit of plant-lust. When I got in the door, I immediately turned on all feminine wiles (asking, explaining, shameless begging) to get him to drive the truck a BLOCK AND A HALF while I walked down, hauled it into the back, getting wet and muddy in the process, and walked back home.

Now if only it would stop raining so I could plant it somewhere - that would tend to help, wouldn't it? Speaking of things that would be helpful - a little heat would be nice at this juncture. You see, a few days ago, we tried our heater and found that it has apparently decided to Stop Working Just Because it Fellllt Like it. We didn't think much of it, since its been pretty warm around here of late. Until yesterday, when Santa Barbara turned into ... downtown Seattle? Rainy, gusty wind, freeeezing (ok, its probably about 50 degrees, but that is COLD) It is especially cold sans working heater.*

*Oh wait! S aka "Papa-San" just saved our day - he re-lit the gas heater, this time NOT singeing the hair off his other hand. Yeaaah! I can take off my parka!