I think the thermometer might be broken. Even this far north it’s not usually giving such consistently high readings ! Still above 30 C this late in the afternoon is not funny!
A couple of weeks ago…I saw a strange little plant in hardware store’s garden section. I didn’t have a camera with me so thought I’d look up the name when I got home. You know what’s coming, right? Yep. By the time I’d run several errands, stopped to chat with a friend and put away all the groceries when I did get home, I’d forgotten the name!I thought it began with S or maybe C or was it Ts? Searching images without a name was no help whatsoever.
So next time I was in town I popped back to the hardware store…no plant.
However, yesterday I had to go back to town again and, while waiting to have something fixed, I went to the store and there it was! Well, two small pots of The Thing. And no name tag. Stay with me, it gets better! First assistant I asked had no idea, but said she’d call the senior lady. The senior lady couldn’t remember, but said she’d ring the grower. The grower was not available. Oh, look, why don’t you pour a beverage of choice …go on. I’ll wait. (I’m getting lots of practice at that!)
I couldn’t hang about any longer so I left. But today…the name still eluding me, I went back to the store and there, on a rack, two pots with hand-written name tags. Dischidia pectinoides .
I bought one!
And right now, it’s in the “day spa.”
Update for Jon, who asked about the “day spa.”
The days between rain are s t r e t c h i n g out alarmingly. At this rate I’ll have to bring the orchids back for some “spa treatment.” When it did rain there was a rush of growth and masses of things have filled bare patches, in some cases crowding things I planted for colour. I’m leaving it, weedy though it may be, as it’s an effective mulch, helping to keep soil cool and moist. Besides, if I get all sweaty trying to weed the mess I’ll add unwanted salts!
And this morning, The Man found a scrunched-up moulted ‘skin’ of a Huntsman. It was all dusty with bits of fluff and grass.
And when I got back from town he showed me this…he’d painstakingly cleaned away the fluff and straightened the legs.
And now I do believe it’s Happy Hour! Bubbles time!With Cheddar and Corella pears.(I removed the feathers!) 🙂
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I am fascinated by that plant – lives on moist air, and its pods provide a home for ants’ nests – all it would need is unusually scented flowers, and it would be a must-have! Unfortunately, with the British winter and six months of central heating to deal with, it would never survive. I’ve lost ferns (and sadly, one of my faves, the stagshorn) because we cannot provide enough humidity before, so Dischidia would have no hope. Jx
PS What’s the “day spa”?
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I do understand – in reverse! Day spa is what I call my shower when I have to bring a Vanda sp in for some humidity
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hahahahahaha! a keeper did a-shooting go? Nah! When spider grow they molt and the old coat is sloughed, a bit like a snakeskin, and then they have the new season’s model, which fits.
Actually, it’s quite an arduous process and not without danger, as they can injure/damage a leg or two.Even worse, while they are waiting for the new coat to dry and for the lymph (spider “blood”) to circulate, they’re very vulnerable.
Come to think of it…a naked chap dashing about wiv a bow an’ arrer has a certain appeal!
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What do you mean ‘skin’????? Are you saying that there’s a naked Huntsman running around your house????
Sx
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Oh dear. My reply went up there/\ to Jon.Forgive me, it’s been a long day.
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Ooh. The man did an excellent job of cleaning up that skin. Which I won’t show my resident man.
LOVE your new plant. Is it just me or can others see a green pith helmet?
Bleah on the heat. As I type is is nearly 8pm, and we are still at nearly 38/C (just over 100F).
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Pith helmet! Yes! The Man said it looks like a turtle. Both answers awarded points.
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Yes definitely a pith helmet similar to what Don Estelle wore in It Ain’t Half Hot Mum. Aren’t you tempted to squeeze the pod open? It would look lovely in my orangery AKA the wash house where it’s a balmy 8°C. The Huntsman skin, sprayed gold would make an attractive broach for an elderly relative or a blind person.
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Mitzi, you’re right! (I wonder how many will recognise Don Estelle’s name?) But that spidey as an ornament? Spot on! (When I was a little girl and NOT at all fond of spiders, my mother had a gold wire and pearl spider brooch which I loved!She wore it on the collar of a black boucle coat.)
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“I wonder how many will recognise Don Estelle’s name?”
I do!
Jx
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I would like one of those plants…but no hope of finding it easily here.
Our dry season started early and has been blazing hot…..and that’s apparently how it will be until May, so it is morning and evening watering for the duration….
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Oh, you poor things. Still supposed to be our wet season and I’m grouping potted things for extra dips in a big laundry basin.Or trips to the “day spa”
How is Leo coping?
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Your Hunstman was a big chap, wasn’t he? Although, I imagine he’s even biger now. Is that a yardstick with his moult?
As for the “Dischidia”, are you sure it’s not Audrey 2 in disguise? I hope you don’t wake up one morning halfway down her gullet.
P.S. Love the header image!
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I think the Huntsman was a “she” Let’s call her Diana! That’s a 6″ rule. And the new header is our local beach.The day I took that, we all went “swimming.” Actually, we just bobbed about in the waves, but that counts.’I am very tempted to dissect one of those pods…
And I shall edit this post to correct a spelling gaff and add an image for Jon.
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Nice plant! Not nice spider.
PS: A friend that lives near Adelaide tells me they are expecting 46c/115f!
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Quite a few places are heading for what we used to call “Outback temperatures.” It’s a little cooler here today, and overcast. Still tad too hot for this chicken.
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I was having a fine time looking at all your plant photos, and then the Huntsman’s skin closeup startled me fiercely! I absolutely can’t abide spiders and the bigger they are, the faster I run… in the opposite direction. Those things are the stuff of nightmares for me, and have all but wiped Australia off my travel “want to go” list. You’d have to lock me in the loonie bin if I chanced upon one of those girls.
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And, if you really want to know, it is around -30C here in the centre of Canada today. Brilliantly sunny and bloody frigid! I’d trade you a few degrees of warmth for some of our cold.
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I’m sorry for you. I used to have to give Ziggi a heads-up before I mentioned them! If you really are afraid telling you they are not dangerous wont help, I guess!
And yes, I’d be happy to do a weather trade. Just a small trade You can keep the Prairie Schooners!
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Oh, I am well aware of the good they do, the bugs they eat, and their nonharmfulness to humans, but that does nothing to allay my phobia. It’s weird, because there is nothing else that freaks me out. Not ticks, not centipedes, not scorpions, not mice or rats or bats. Just spiders. Irrational and uncontrollable. I can occasionally watch a tv show about them, but I am prepared to see them. I think it is the sudden appearance that I am not expecting that flares my phobia to completely stupid heights. I wish it were not so. *sigh*
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You are incredibly devoted to your orchids. No wonder they thrive so well for you!
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Well, if I’ve stretched the house keeping budget to buy them I really want to see blooming results!
The other end of the scale , when we lived in a frost-prone area, saw me putting up frost covers at night and removing them at sun-up. 🙂
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Great post, Di! I watched a video about your plant, it looks a real winner. Should do well in your climate, with the odd visit to the spa. Very nice spider moult, the Man did a great job on spreading it out. A very satisfactorily large girl now at home with you, somewhere… Crikey, it’s hot! I’ve finally succumbed to an air conditioner and can’t believe what a difference it makes. Almost makes summer bearable, as long as I don’t venture outside. Stay as cool as you can…
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Well, we’ve had a rainy morning.Good rain, soaking in and not so heavy it smashes stuff to ribbons.YAY!
Yes, somewhere, there’s a spider in her new coat…
I have spent the morning de-anting the record cabinet. Posh term for a cupboard below the TV where hundreds of cassette tapes, LPs and CDs and a few videos live. Almost never gets dusted(too lazy to move TV and hi fi units!) so the ants thought it would be an ideal nursery.
Next chore? Ring round friends to see if anyone wants first dibs, otherwise it’s Op-Shop time! 🙂
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I’ll never set foot in this country.
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You will miss a lot of good things, but I do understand! 🙂
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There was a story in the New York Times about your horrific heat. We are subzero so I think you got the better of the bargain. Thanks for stretching out the spider. I was wondering.
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Since I wrote this post we have had, are having real rain. Flooding further north, but not that bad here. And tonight the news was all about fires in Tasmania and more dead fish in the Darling River. The “Lucky Country”? Not so much.
The Man has put that dead spider in the cabinet with his Arizona Blonde! (eye roll)
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As you know, i’d gladly ship you some of our cold for a bit of heat. But it doesn’t work that way (although we’ve proven that shipping auto parts is as easy as pie!). As for Ms. Huntsman? Nope. Nopity, nopity, nope, nope, nope. If i encounter a live one, i’m likely to explode… i still want to get there 2020, but may have to wear a bugsuit for the duration!
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Hahaha! I’ll be your personal spider guard.
About swapping some snow for warmth…can we take a rain cheque? Some parts of the “Sunshine State” are flooded just now. And the Met. Office says there’s more rain, into next week. Hey-ho…
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