Are They Trying to Tell Me Something?

Hi All!

This weekend was pretty quite. I went to the ASL lab on Saturday morning and was the only student there for most of the three hours I was there. I watched a video which made me realize just how much practice I need if I am planning on being an interpreter! Yikes!

Anyway. I had fun at lab talking to the two lab assistants. We talked about television shows and about how my lovely kitty - Skor - just wouldn't let me sleep in at all that morning. Skor is well known by reputation in that lab by now!

After lab I headed home to find Hubby holding a rather bedraggled African Violet. Or what was left of one. To start the story at the "real" beginning, I should tell you that when we got Skor I had two lovely, flourishing African Violets. One had purple blooms and one had white blooms. They bloomed almost constantly and were full and lush and . .. wonderful.

And then . . . Skor discovered how to get onto the plant stand. The African violets were not and still aren't his main objectives on the plant stand. He is after the taller, spikier plants like my Amaryllis and Paper White plants. He enjoys batting the tall spikes around. He likes to nudge the long leaves with his head. He sits and stares at the tall greenery for long moments. Never does he bite or chew the plants. That doesn't sound too bad, does it?

Well, it isn't too bad until you realize that while Skor is taking in the beauty of the plants he is seated. Seated on my African Violets!

Apparently, the lovely spreading leaves of the violets makes a comfortable place to settle for a while. And, when a rather large kitty begins sitting on a plant . . . well, that plant tends to get a bit messed up.

I first noticed something was wrong around Christmas time when my beautiful purple violet suddenly had leaves which were broken off. I couldn't quite put my finger on the reason though. I just kept taking off broken leaves and pondering what was going. on. Soon, the poor plant was down to only three leaves and the stem. No more purple blooms.

Next, I found that wonderful plant sitting in its pot with the stem neatly snapped in two. It had given its life. *sigh*

It wasn't until a couple of weeks later that I figured out that the violet had given its life to be a kitty seat. It wasn't until Hubby noticed a big chunk of white kitty hair on the other violet which had several leaves snapped off of it. By watching vigilantly, we soon discovered Skor's plant watching habit.

Trying to stop the plant sitting Hubby and I rearranged furniture trying to make the plant stand more inaccessible. We rearrange plants on the stand trying to make it impossible for a kitty to actually fit on the stand. Needless to say, we were not very successful. The white violet has been slowly paying the price of being a seat - broken leaves and a sudden lack of blooms in protest.

Saturday Hubby greeted me with the sad remains of that white African Violet. Skor had knocked the entire plant off the stand during one of his greenery staring sessions. *sigh*

Now we are trying to save the violet's life. I don't know if we can do it or not.

Yesterday I was doctoring the violet when I decided to water my other plants. I went into my music room and noticed that my Christmas Cactus was a bit droopy. I picked up the pot and half of the plant literally just dropped off and hit the floor!

Is it in sympathy for the violet? Is it because I am a bad "plant mother?" What is this plant trying to tell me?

Trisha

Voice Update: Well, for some unknown reason, my voice has been a bit rough lately. I have had more problems than normal with those unvoiced consonants (haven't ever heard that before, have you???). I do have an appointment on Wednesday so I am sure that I will get everything "ironed" out by then.