Introduction -&- Jumpstarted hobby! [LONG]

From: Ermine! (ermine@netscape.com)
Date: Thu Oct 16 1997 - 23:35:16 PDT


Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 23:35:16 -0700
From: "Ermine!" <ermine@netscape.com>
To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com
Message-Id: <aabcdefg4019$foo@default>
Subject: Introduction -&- Jumpstarted hobby!  [LONG]


(I BCC'd several friends on this, since I didn't want to tell the story
twice!)

Hi folks,

I've been a lurker here for the last couple of months, and I thought it
was time to introduce myself. My name is Matt Ouimette, and currently I
live in the Bay Area, California (2 hours from California Carnivores,
for those of you in the know.)

2 months ago, my girlfriend went to Florida to visit family, and at my
request, brought me back a VFT as a souvenir. I don't know if killing a
VFT when I was six counts as my first dabbling into CP, but I haven't
killed this VFT or the S. Purpurea she brought back - *yet*. Anyway,
suddenly having 2 CPs as a gift from my girlfriend, I had to learn
enough about them to keep them alive, otherwise she was sure to kill me,
right? :)

I joined this list and started reading the CP faq, finally putting
together a rudimentary terrarium for the two plants. I figured I'd wait
till next summer, and if I'd managed to keep even one plant alive, I'd
get a couple more from California Carnivores then.

Then I saw the post from Derek Glidden a week ago, that he'd be in the
bay area, and wanted to talk to CP fans. I decided now was a good time
to meet an expert, so I responded. We decided to drive out to CC on
sunday (just this last sunday!) and take a look around, meeting one
other list member (Craig Gardner) there. There was also the possibility
of seeing Craig's greenhouse, and maybe even a 'local' bog with wild
CPs!

It all sounded good, so at 8:00 am, Tina (my wonderfully understanding
girlfriend) and I set out. We picked Derek up at the hotel after
getting lost only once, then headed out to Santa Rosa. We arrived at
California Carnivores just at 10:00, opening time. I walked in and was
immediately captivated! Sundews everywhere, pitchers (S. Leucophyllia
and S. Purpurea) in planters outside the greenhouse, and a VFT that took
my breath away. I also got to see my first Nepenthes - gorgeous!

Craig arrived a few minutes later, by which time I had already set aside
a few plants to purchase, I couldn't help it! I wanted a D. Capensis,
and some sort of rosetted sundew, and I HAD to get -one- small
Nepenthes. I had several other choices, but put them back when Craig
told me he had a spare at his greenhouse and would give me one. I
decided then for sure to visit, with the lure of free plants. :)

We spent about three hours there, chatting with Peter D'Amato,
discussing what plants would be hardiest for me as a beginner, and what
interesting things Peter had in the hothouse. Eventually we had to go.
We grabbed lunch and headed out to Ukiah, to Craig's greenhouse. When
we arrived, I was overwhelmed again. Craig had a LOT of plants! He
gave me several small plants, so I had a sampling of nearly every type.

Actually, I now have, let's see..

4 VFTs in different sizes, plus two leaf cuttings.
d. capensis (wide-leaf)
d. capensis (normal)
d. capensis albia
d. Adelaide
d. rotundifolia
d. binata dichotoma giant
d. aliciae
d. venusia? (not sure)
s. purpurea
s. pscitticinia
s. leucophyllia
nepenthes spathulatha x veichii (I have a Nepenthes! - I can hear you
laughing from here, Derek!)

All of these names I've learned in the last week, or on Sunday - quite
an education!

Some of the pots already had Utricularia in them, but with the flowers
already gone to seed, *I* certainly can't identify them. I'll let you
all know next year...

Anyway, from there, everyone wanted to go see the bog, and it was only
'a little ways away'. So we headed off down the road again, now driving
carefully, with a trunk full of seedlings. Well, *I* was driving
carefully.. Craig knew the area, and where he was going, plus he had no
plants or passengers to worry about. We kept losing him, but he'd wait
several miles ahead for us, and start up again each time we caught up.
Nearly 2 hours later, down a winding, unmarked road with no public
restrooms , (that's another story..!) Craig's car stopped beside the
road. No signs, no markers, nothing but trees. We followed, by now
wondering if Craig were in fact a devious plant trap, intent on luring
us into the woods for the plants to feed on..

We walked into the woods for only a couple of minutes before Craig
stopped and pointed out several d. rotundifolia growing on the soggy
ground, then a d. capensis, and another, and another. Then he pointed
out the first of the darlingtonia, telling us "These are the small ones,
the big ones are further in." Yow! For the next three hours, we
squished and slogged our way through the bog, me in my sandals. We saw
darlingtonias by the hundreds, d. capensis and d. rotundifolia in nearly
the same numbers, tall stands of s. leucophylla, s. purpurea, s. rubra,
a few VFTs, several pinguicula, one or two flowering utricularia, and
even a small clearing that was thickly dotted with some sort of pygmy
drosera.

Apparently, several CP enthusiasts had spread seed here several years
ago, and their project had bloomed, literally!
I was awed and astonished by the diversity and beauty of the plants
growing wild around me.

Eventually, even this had to end, and we said our good-byes to Craig.
By now Derek had used up 8 rolls of film, between the bog and the
various greenhouses. We headed back home, finally arriving back in
Mountain View at 1:00 am - a total of 17 hours out, at least 11 of them
on the road - WHEW! I was tired, to say the least.

The next day, I set up a NEW terrarium, this one a 30-gallon tank on my
desk at Netscape. The plants were carefully set into the water in their
pots, the nepenthes elevated where it could drain I got the lights on a
timer and set it for the proper amount of light. After a couple of days
of repotting and moving things about between there and the windowsills
of my apartment, I think everything is finally where I want it. Now I
have to WAIT for several months before anything more happens. This is
going to be the hard part. maybe I can get my manager stuck in the
nepenthes until it dissolves him.. nahh...!

Anyway, I''ve obviously already said too much in this posting, but
please don't flame - every bit of it IS on-topic, at least, and I'm a
newbie in the first flush of excitement with CP. I expect I'll be
asking for frequent advice and help as I try to keep these babies alive,
so please be gentle with me. :)

Anyway, thank you for reading this, and please let me know what you
think. I'll be posting more, with plenty of questions, and requests for
help and advice. Maybe I'll even meet one or three of you, eventually.

Matt Ouimette,
ermine@netscape.com

--
   ##  It may be great to soar with the eagles, but you never see   ##
   ##     a weasel getting sucked into a jet engine, now do you?    ##



This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Jan 02 2001 - 17:31:12 PST