Saturday

[jkofferdahl]

Waking up on Saturday is a special treat for me. It's not just that I don't have to go to work; rather, it is what I get to do. Or, perhaps, the lives I get to enjoy.

When I first wake up I lay on the bed, being pounced on by my dogs. Somehow they all, but particularly Sully (my avatar), sense when I'm awake, even if I don't open my eyes or even move. And the game is on! Sully's 85 pounds crash into me while he wags his tail so hard that his whole body wags with it. Hannibal, a male pug, leaps at my hands while his sister, Ripley, grins like no other dog can. Cody, old and dignified now at 13 years, stays at the foot of the bed, staring at me and occasionally pawing the air to let me know he's there, too. Once I move, it's really on with Sully; after all, he's still a puppy despite his size. He barks, growls, dodges my hands, grabs my hands, rolls on his side to try to push me off the bed, then grabs my hands again, all the while looking like he's laughing with joy. Finally I get out of bed so I can let them out into the back yard where Sully patrols for stray squirrels and birds he chases but never catches. I think if he caught one, though, he'd lick it a few times and then let it go, happy to have met a new friend.

Once the dogs are out it's orchid time. Though not all will need watering I still handle every single plant, examining each for problems (today I found mealies on a couple of Paphs in the Paph room) and looking at the new growth, whether leaves, pseudobulbs, roots, or, most exciting, spikes. About two-thirds of the plants are Phals (maybe 70?), so many have all but finished blooming for the season, but some, too, are just getting started. Hyroglyphica is initiating a spike, as is a violacea, a Neofinitia, my largest Sarchochilus, and a second Phal. deliciosa. All of the Phals have wonderful, deep tangles of roots burrowing through the pots and most are busily growing leaves. A Psychopsis has a beautiful, large bloom that opened several days ago, another is growing a spike and has just produced a new growth lead. Phal. Equilacea, a primary hybrid of equestris and violacea, opened its first flower over night, and has a fragrance that makes it worth growing even if the flower weren't so lovely. A stuartiana which recently bloomed, despite being way too small, shows signs of stress, but is still actively pushing out a new leaf. My larger ludemanniana, done blooming it seems, is now growing a keiki which is maybe a third of an inch tall from the spike and is already growing two roots.

Today's orchid time lasted at least a couple of hours. While working with them, looking, fertilizing, and loving them, I listen to some good (to me) music. We started with some really, really old Genesis (can you remember them when Phil Collins was just the drummer, and there were five members of the band?). Then I'd had enough of remembering the halcyon days of my youth and so switched gears to Leo Kottke. Nobody picks a guitar like Kottke. Coffee, of course, is always an important part of the process, too; today's is from some freshly roasted Costa Rican bean. Then the dogs come back in. Sully demands his breakfast, the pugs laugh at the thought, and Cody obligingly eats about half a bowl of food. I'm convinced that the reason dogs can eat the same food day in and day out is because they eat so quickly most of the time that they don't get a chance to taste it.

Finally, dogs fed, plants happy, I load a pipe I made a couple of years ago now. The smooth wood feels nice, the dark brown of the coloring deepened from repeated smoking. Not politically correct, I know, but then when am I ever? I fire up my computer and sign on to the Orchid Board where I can visit with the thoughts of my friends.

I love Saturday!