Cactus

...she rode through the cactus rising up from the ground. Earlier this morning, in town, she had seen the women in the carriage with her curled hair and white gloved hand hanging listlessly out the window. What a life she imagined the woman must have. What a life. The hooves tapped on the dry ground, hollow and vast...
that night, as she lay under the big sky, she thought about what it might be like in a fluffy bed with soft white sheets. She closed her eyes to imagine it. Almost wishing herself there. But when she opened her eyes, she looked up at the bright, glimmering stars. They sparkled down on her like a thousand well-wishing angels. And she knew she wouldn't change places for anything...

Great New Books

The Cactus and Succulents that I have been looking at for months are something that my mom knew more about that I thought. When we went to Powell's in Portland, OR I decided to look around at the horticulture books. I have been looking for the right book for a long time, and the images are always very plant-seed-bag-esque. Nothing beautiful or creative about it. Nothing inspiring. Finally, in a totally different section, I found this book randomly hiding among the others on outdoor and indoor garden design, and Zen and Japanese gardens. It is used, It was published in 1977, it cost $7.95. And my flip test was proven effective when I fell in love with the images in this book. They get better each time I go through. So I wanted to share a bit...

succulent (ˈsʌkjʊlənt)
— adj
1.	abundant in juices; juicy
2.	(of plants) having thick fleshy leaves or stems
3.	informal stimulating interest, desire, etc
— n
4.	a plant that is able to exist in arid or salty conditions by using water stored in its fleshy tissues cac·tus /ˈkæktəs/ Show Spelled[kak-tuhs] –noun, plural -ti /-taɪ/ show+spelled">Show Spelled[-tahy] Show IPA, -tus·es, -tus. any of numerous succulent plants of the family Cactaceae, of warm, arid regions of the New world, having fleshy, leafless, usually spiny stems, and typically having solitary, showy flowers.