The Wild Life and Times of a Botanical Geek

I found out today that my star tree is gone.

I was so shocked and distraught that I cried a little. Yes, it is probably a little silly to get that upset over, but I dunno that I really care whether it was or not.

*weeps*

I so desperately wish that this drought would break. There are, of course, the practical reasons, like the fact that the lakes are disappearing and my plants are suffering due to the fact that they're not getting watered regularly.

Then there are the more selfish reasons, like the fact that I have a stash of Lushy items, and can't use any of them, as they're all bath things, and I can't take a bath without feeling horribly guilty about it. Instead, they are getting old. At least they continue to smell lovely.

For those of you who came in late, I've been trying to grow tomatoes from seed. Thus far, this has been working out fairly well. Until today.

Those of you who live in my general vicinity probably know about the wacky weather we've been having, what with the sudden cold front bearing frost, the sopping soak we had yesterday, and the insane wind we're having today, which is causing the chimney to make growling noises and subsequently is making Arnold very nervous, because obviously it's a signal that a horde of hottentots is preparing to come down the chimney like Santa Claus turned Genghis Kahn. Therefore, after having rigged up the tomato seedlings' new home, I was forced to bring them back inside until all the craziness had passed.

Yesterday afternoon, I finally decided that it was time to put them back outside. It looked like the worst of the rain had passed, and the tomatoes were straining to get at the light coming in from the window. So, back outside they went. There was still some rain, but I figured it wouldn't be so bad. They needed some water anyway. Then today I wake up to discover I should be watching out for signs the house is taking a trip to Oz, what with the insane wind we're having. Well, I said to myself, the tomatoes probably aren't that bad off. They're close to the ground, so they can't be snapped apart. I'm sure they're fine, right? WRONG.

I went to check them today as I was putting Arnold outside and discovered to my horror that their leaves have all but wilted away. This is both very saddening and boggling. I know it can't be from lack of water--they got rained on yesterday, and the stems aren't showing signs of wilting. Maybe they got rained on too much. The rain was pretty hard at times, so maybe the leaves got beaten too much. The only other thing I can think of is that maybe they got sun shocked, going from a somewhat shady place to a signficantly sunnier place, but they were fine when they went from the windowsill to outside. I don't think the wind had anything to do with it, since, again, the stems are fine. I really wish I could figure out what it is.

At this juncture, I don't really know what to do. About the only good thing about all this is that upon closer inspection, I noticed there were some baby leaves at the apexes of the plants, so I'm hoping maybe they're still alive enough to keep growing. I guess I'll give them another day. I've still got plenty of tomato seeds, so maybe I'll replant some directly into the pot they're going to be in. That would at least take care of the sunshock question.

Either way. I feel pretty bad about this. ;_;