The Corpse has risen

The corpse flower (Amorphophallius titanium) is found on the island of Sumatra. It has bloomed only 29 times at botanical gardens in the U.S. This was #30. The flower smells of rotting flesh to attract hundreds of flies for pollination.  There wasn't much of that smell when we saw the flower and that was an indicator the flower was in decline.  The can weigh 30 pounds or more.  The flowering is a boon to the Houston Museum of Natural History as droves of people have visited and purchased corpse thousands of dollars in merchandise and tickets. The museum stayed open 24/7 while the flower remained open. My friend Dan and I visited the plant at 2:00 am on Sunday morning. Yes, that 2:00 am because all the tickets were sold out until then. We arrive to a line of people who made this the last event of their drunken night after hitting the clubs of Houston. The line of around 100 people was probably continuous starting 4 hours prior. With a situation like this the museum had to herd the people forward and allow only a one minute gaze. Nothing I could do about that. We came, we saw, we took pictures and drove the 60 miles back to Angleton. What a drag. Rack time – 0430.


 

Clash of the Titans: Doobie vs Motorhead

Doobie, Doobie, Do-wah

One day in 2007 I was driving on the outskirts of Brazoria NWR when the botdar prompted me to pull into a backroad to botanize for spring flora. Arriving at a cul de sac I noticed a box amidst the piles of refuge that is typically dumped in these parts. In this box was several kittens that appeared to be only days old. Two survivors didn't succumb to exposure. One was on the verge of death and taken to the vet to revive. I received a call later that it died. The other was taken home. Chelsea cared for it with kitten milk and baby bottle I purchased at the store. We feared his roaming would bring him near Mr. Spock, a well known cat killer. We approached Spock with "Doobie" and told him he better not hurt our new addition. We used Doobie's paw to swat at him to prove our point. Spock became his big brother after that. Doobie grew into a 16 pound killing machine; a prolific ratter and roacher. Gone were the rats that inhabited the backyard. On occasion we came upon his prey in the house; a gift from Doobie for breakfast. 
 Picture:  Doobie and Motorhead