Mammillaria hahniana

i did it! i enrolled in a french tour of the greenhouses (the info point clerk didn't speak any english btw... and asked if i was anglaise. :D) at nantes, jardin des plantes and found out which genus 

and species my cactus at home belongs to.

may i present you the humble mammillaria hahniana (old lady cactus???).

(the lowest plants have the same coloring of the needles, white dipped into brown. a major point why i was never sure of the classification when looking at other people's photos.)

the tour was btw for free. as i didn't understand much of it i had more time inspecting the plants and could have taken more photos if i wasn't so intensely trying to find the right species. anyway we only visited the cacti and succulents house plus the rainforest house (no pictures there, intermittent "rain" ensured that). the rainforest greenhouse was awesome inside but it looked very sick from outside - all glasses were brown and muddy. apparently it was from some bacteria 

which was growing on some leaves as well or maybe algae that was good for the plants.

too bad we were there too early for la folie des plantes -

plant fever in nantes 

(and that the airplant shop was en vacances)

my happy cactus :)

(though still not that happy - not yet flowering after a year and two summers...)

äitisuomennos: kaktuksen lajike tiedossa!

kaktukset.blogspot.fi: mammillaria hahniana

Purging

what a better way to start a new year than purging unused items!

tip: i've already donated several books to the local library for community use.

sometimes it's difficult to decide which items should go and which to keep. i recently heard about a new book (in finnish) that promises to end all my clothing troubles: Rinna Saramäki, Hyvän mielen vaatekaappi. source: pupulandia
i'm interested in to give it a try. i hope the local library has it already.


äitisuomennos: uuden vuoden siivous...

After holidays...

the only three strawberries that survived couple of draughts.

in 2 boxes the plants were almost all dead. well, at least i learned the names of the tough ones. ;)


äitisuomennos: sadonkorjuuta loman jälkeen

None died! :)

3 weeks away... and this was the worst case.



äitisuomennos: kasvit hengissä, vaikka tasan 3 viikkoa ilman säännöllistä kastelua! ihme!

Tourist on Monday in Tampere???

some tips for what to do on summer mondays in tampere if you are a tourist
(and when quite a few museums are closed)

1) lenin museum is one of the few museums open on mondays. the museum is literally about him. 

2) go swimming! the lakes are always open. 

3) have a picnic in pyynikki. the ridge is naturally beautiful and the cafe by näkötorni always welcoming with famous finnish "doughnuts" called munkki. (the one licking the sugar from his/her lips first loses!) 

4) ride buses around the city and the suburbs. monday is anyway better for that than sunday. don't forget your 24 h buscard! 

5) take a walk in the arboretum, the botanical garden of hatanpää. on a sunny day preferable time is in the evening from 7 p.m. when it's not too hot anymore. 

6) go shopping. even the smallest specialized shops are open on mondays (besides you'll avoid the saturday crowd). 

7) read a book. you can get a free library card from any of the city's libraries. 

8) count all the shirtless men roaming the streets.

9) count all the corners which smell like urine.

10) relax. you're on a holiday, right?!?


äitisuomennos: ja suomalaisethan ei mitään vinkkejä kaipaile!

Eventually all the bats return home...

I'm finally going!!! :)


äitisuomennos: Transsylvaaniaan - HUU-uu!!!


ps. see below below below below - 'another functioning' ticker... :P
pps. maybe i should have offered a bat stamp for finding it...

Currently in Los Mochis

NOTE!!! the author of this blog has been currently seen in los mochis by the mexico`s pacific coast. the air is somewhat over 20 degrees warm and the palms are swaying in the sea breeze.

my my... i guess this old paparazzi is going to have some days off as well - it must be the sun and the beach... wish you were here boss! :P


äitisuomennos: blogisti on nähty elossa los mochisissa ottamassa aurinkoa palmujen huojuessa tuulessa... ilma on päälle 20 asteista ja meri odottaa...

Vacations! Jippii!!!

Am happy to announce that I am still alive - currently in Mazatlán - but that I`ll be out of contact for whole two months(some people have their Christmas holidays you know...) Am still reading my mail every now and then but waiting for a rapid answer - well, one can always hope... ;)


äitisuomennos: vielä elossa! :) tosin matkoilla, vaikka s-postissani ei olekaan autoreply toimintoa. :P vastausta odotellessa pari lohdutuksen sanaa: toivossa on hyvä elää. ;)