Sun Lakes Writers Group
Barbara Schwartz
Do you enjoy writing? Do you enjoy reading? Do you want to preserve your family history so that you can relate it to the grandchildren? If you have answered yes to any of these questions, I urge you to become acquainted with the Sun Lakes Writers Group.
We meet every Tuesday at the Ceramics Room at Cottonwood (Room 8), directly across from the Cottonwood Library.
We are given weekly words to write about. This is used as a crutch in case you cannot get enough inspiration to write about anything! We are then given time to read the creations the following week.
It is fun and a healthy way to get creative.
Right now, we are wearing masks, but as time goes on and we have been fully vaccinated, we find it appropriate to remove the mask if desired by the individual.
Remember, Tuesday afternoon in Room 8, the Ceramics Room, in Cottonwood. We start to read at 1 p.m., but we start arriving about 12:30 p.m. or so to have a mini meet and greet session beforehand.
Please call Barbara at 480-388-0190 for further information.
Houseplant Friends
George Stahl
People have been cultivating, nursing, and cursing houseplants for decades. Ancient civilizations used to keep vegetation in their homes to exploit the beauty of the exotic and the healing and psychological properties of certain leafy life forms.
Perhaps, arguably the most famous houseplant was in the 1960 film, The Little Shop of Horrors. That houseplant was the creation of a flower shop kid named Seymore. Seems that young Seymore was quite the matchmaker, in being able to bring two plants together to form one. He was, at the very least, a very talented botanist. Well, this hybrid plant Seymore created turned out to be the Frankenstein of houseplants. The plant had a peculiar habit, it had the mouth of a Venus Flytrap attached to its stalk, and for some reason, Seymore’s genetic meddling gave it the ability to talk. Its favorite thing to do? Eat people. “Feed me … feed me Seymore!” it shouted, and Seymore provided the human entree.
The plant is given the name Audrey. It is more seductive than demanding. Poor Seymore, just can’t get a break, and his nagging, weedy girlfriend is constantly intimidating him, and getting hungrier by the day. “Feed me Seymore!”
Look at that small plant you have in the comer. Is it happy? Is it able to tell all of its other plant friends that you and it are like two peas in a pod? Do you talk to it? If you do, does it talk back? What does it say? How does plant talk sound? As long as it is not asking for human food, and you don’t call it Audrey, everything is probably okay with you two.
Then, there is that other one. The one in the corner of the master bedroom. That one seems more alive at times than the others. She knows what is what, and she is waiting for the right time to speak to you about it. When your Audrey in the bedroom corner does speak, don’t be too afraid, just get ready to change your lifestyle a lot.
According to the website Beyond Science, talking to your plants is not only healthy for your plant, but it breeds trust between this wild indoor foliage and you. Now trust has a connotation of two-way communication. Apparently, you are not the only one talking in this relationship. Beyond Science says that studies have shown that houseplants respond to the sound of the human voice, sort of like a dog. Look at your plant in its pot and tell it to sit. That’s probably going to be the extent of its repertoire of tricks. No roll over, no play dead (unless you don’t water it for a few days), and no fetch for sure. Nevertheless, you and your plant can have a lot to talk about.
When you come home, go over to it, and listen closely. Does it ask, how was your day? Does it ask what you want for dinner? It’s not a good idea to eat a salad in front of the plant. That could put some stress on your relationship. For your part, you could ask how its day was while you were out. Just because it is rootbound doesn’t mean it didn’t have some kind of experience or something. Maybe it saw something interesting out of the window. That is if you were thoughtful enough to open the shutters or blinds before you left that morning.
The thing is, just like in any other relationship, there has to be a sort of sympatico feeling going on. Remember, the life that you save could be a helpless piece of vegetation. Did you water your leafy buddies today?
What Makes the Sky Blue?
Ruby Regina Witcraft
Why isn’t it yellow or green or even purple? Well I’ll tell you why, because I looked it up.
As white light passes through our atmosphere, tiny air molecules cause it to scatter. Violet and blue have the shortest wavelengths and red has the longest. Therefore, blue light is scattered more than red and that makes blue skies during the day.
Speaking of blue skies. My new friend, another horse lover, and I took a ride out to show her a fine horse facility off of Hunt Highway, under beautiful blue skies. It was a great day to be out and about, but the most stunning sight was the most magnificent horse operation I have ever seen. Even after having been in the stable business for 25 years and having enjoyed showing at every stable in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, as far north as Detroit and as far south as Florida, this place was jaw dropping amazing.
They had huge covered and outdoor stadiums, a massive tack shop with groceries and horse feed, and a meeting house as big as a stadium. There were hundreds of outdoor and indoor stalls, too many to count, some had long runs, turn out grass covered pastures, and even goat yoga (that I’ve got to see).
We walked through several barns and patted horses that seemed very happy to be visited but were, somewhat, upset when we didn’t have carrots or apples to feed them. There was a young girl thinning her horse’s mane, preparing it to be braided for a jumping show this weekend.
The most impressive thing was that every building was made out of beautiful wood, and there wasn’t an iron shed on the property. The cost must have been astronomical. My barns in Oklahoma were all made of aluminum to make them easier to rebuild after tornadoes. That’s what I call thinking ahead.
I thought I had a pretty extensive operation at my farm, as it was one of the most well run in the state, but it couldn’t hold a candle to this place.
The owner’s name is on a very attractive sign when entering the gate and all I can say, if I ever met him, which isn’t likely, would be “Fantastic!”
Being a dyed in the wool, horse and rider trainer, the thought crossed my mind that I would love to teach there but once in my recliner at home, I junked that idea.
We enjoyed a day out of the house, the dear horses that we both love, and the beautiful blue skies.
Now that I’ve told you more than you’ll ever want to know about blue skies and horses, it’s time for my nap.