Sunday, May 14, 2006

Happy Mother's Day!

Okay, Flickr is plumb addictive. I've been playing on it off and on all day as I obsessively-compulsively check my Inbox to see if either one of my daughters has sent me a Mother's Day message yet. (Not yet.) My Flickr URL isn't ready to reveal since only two photo sets are uploaded. Keep checking back...

Hey, have you ever heard of the "corpse flower" plant? The Titan Arum, or amorphophallus titanum, comes from Sumatra, can be up to 12 feet tall, and its odiferous bloom (which smells like a decaying body) draws carrion-eating insects to the plant, thereby helping to pollinate it. (Head to: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1355093 and choose the "Listen" link to hear more.)


Well, IMHO, Misha and I may be on the brink of a new botanical discovery. The last three or four times we have run through the area of Red Bud Park I generously call "The Grove" (about 8 mesquite trees and their patchy shade), I have been *overwhelmed* by the smell of URINE. The first time this happened, I thought someone had let their Great Dane (or pony) pee all over this thirty-foot stretch of track. The second time it happened, I thought maybe it was kids who come hang out at the park at night. Today, however, when the Wonder Lab and I walked/jogged our three miles, it dawned on me that there might be some new kind of undiscovered "Pampers Plant" that grows at the base of mesquite trees.

Just think--if WE discover it, we get to name it! I'm mulling over a few names, just in case...urinius titanus, numerus unum americana, Texas Tinkle Weed, and a few others are rattling around in my noggin. We'll keep you posted...

Thank you, God, for mothers! Happy Mother's Day to all the happy moms out there!

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