It is annoying when leaves catch a ride on a sock or shoe or paw coming into the house, but it is hard to stay irritated when the leaf is in the shape of a heart. Aw.
With love from the Woods
Category: Flora
Tree moss
My little jewel orchid was not thriving in the terrarium; I don’t think it had enough light. The moss I purchased was thriving though, so I went looking for something relatively tall (1-2 inches) to crown my miniature hill. I found Climacium Tree Moss (Dendroides / Americanum). This moss grows a kind of trunk and looks like a miniature copse of trees. Adorable and perfect.
The jewel orchid lost its roots (probably too wet in the terrarium), so I put it in a jar with some living moss near a north facing window (no direct sunlight, but plenty of indirect). I’ll post an update on it as it recovers. I’ve read that an orchid can regrow roots from healthy stem and leaf, so I’m hoping.
Left over moss
I had been keeping the left over moss I purchased for my mossarium in the plastic container it shipped in, but I noticed some mold growing in there, so introduced the moss to an empty glass jar. I put some orchid substrate on the bottom, formed a loose ball with the moss, and tucked it i to the jar. Because it is a patterned jar, it doesn’t show the moss clearly, so looks… questionable.
Moss is happy though. We’ll see how it goes.
Spinning cottonwood
We visited a park recently covered in cottonwood seed fluff; of course I had to try to spin it.
There is good reason the cottonwood tree is named after the plant. The fluffy seeds look similar to the fibrous cotton seeds, but are much smaller. The fibers are short, less than an inch, which made spinning a high twist with a stick a challenge. It would have been better to use a tahkli spindle or chakra, which are designed for short fibers, but it was a walk through the park, so I used what was at hand. I also didn’t prep the material at all, but spun from clumps of seeds, taking out non-fibrous material as I went.
It took me the better part of an hour walking the park to spin a small amount of yarn because I was not getting enough twist in and it kept drifting apart. When we were done at the park, I had my eldest help me fold the single in half, and I added some twist to ply it, just to see what it looked like. It was fluffy and soft with a pretty luster.
Note, I am allergic to cottonwood, but is a nasal allergy, not a contact allergy, so I was quite sniffily by the end. I have spun it now, though, so can stop wondering if it is possible.
Orchid mount
My orchid count has doubled. I purchased a jewel orchid for my terrarium, and now I have a full size orchid from family. I’m rather fascinated with mounted orchids, despite the daily misting requirements, so I took a piece of lake drift wood that I collected years ago, placed the orchid, and wrapped the roots lightly with sphagnum moss. I secured the whole thing, until the orchid can establish contact, with fishing line wrapped gently around. To catch overspray, I put the mounted orchid in a leaf dish filled with orchid mix.
The center leaf has continued to grow, so I’m hoping the orchid continues to enjoy its new habitat.
Critters and Craft 