Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Orchid rehab

Hey, what's up, dogs?  Today my human and I are going to test out our green thumbs....errr, I mean, green paws.  I keep forgetting I don't have thumbs.

Anyway...my human recently received this beautiful orchid arrangement as a gift.  Isn't it gorgeous?  

But there's one problem.  This glass pot, although attractive and sturdy, has absolutely no drainage holes.  And in the last few days, it looks like one of the plants' leaves is yellowing.  

After watching a couple of YouTube videos on orchid care, my human decided we should extract the plants and take a look at the roots.  

(Disclaimer:  For the record, I suggested we consult Jerry, Ben, or Sandy before taking this radical step, but my human didn't listen.  So if this goes south, don't blame me.  Sigh...humans.)

First, we made a run to the garden store.  We've got some orchid potting mix, which mostly consists of bark chips for proper drainage, and some orchid food sticks.  We also have some new moss (not pictured) to pack around the roots, and a new pot, this time with holes for drainage.
Here goes nothing.  First, my human will attempt to pull the plants from the pot.  Hey, careful with that!  Gently....gently...



Oh my.  Looks like the root balls were still encased in their original plastic wrappers, which were packed with moss to retain moisture.  And since my human watered them a few times in the glass pot, that moss never aired out.  I think the roots were suffocating!

We cut the plastic wrappers off and removed the damaged parts of the roots.  Then we repotted the plants.  Fast forward twenty minutes....

Aaaaaaaand here's the finished product.  According to our YouTube education, the flowers may not pull through, but I really hope we can salvage the plants so they can try again next season and continue to give us beautiful blossoms in the future.  

Whew!  Mission accomplished.  I'll keep you posted over the next few months regarding how "green" my paw is...Stay tuned! 

Sunday, February 9, 2020

Luggage tag

Hey, what's up, dogs?  Do you remember this photo of my suitcase when I left for Iceland, and how I mentioned that the luggage tag resembled yours truly?...
Well, this is what the suitcase looks like now.  Notice anything?
That's right...the tag is gone.  GONE!  I'm so bummed.  (Whimper...)


I have no idea what happened to it.  All I know is that it was missing when my human picked the bag up off the baggage claim carousel.  Perhaps it fell off?  Or perhaps someone was enchanted by its (my) cuteness and decided to take it?  I don't like to think about the second possibility, but you never know.  Sigh...

Fortunately, my friend Ajdin is looking out for me.  I got this in the mail some time ago:

It says:  "Hi Droopy--I heard you lost your luggage tag on the trip to Iceland  :(  Here is a new one for your future trips!"

And here's what came along with the note!




Wow, that is great!  It looks great on the suitcase.  Thank you, Ajdin...I'll definitely treasure this.  Now I'm all set for my next trip.

Hope everybody has a great week!  See you next time...