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In order to let go of the chaos of the past couple days, this evening I decided to prune my houseplants. By the time I was halfway done with the wormwood proto-bonsai, I realized that it smelled different than it did when I started. Not just the usual crushed leaves and fresh sap. Sharper, perhaps. A sticky kind of scent. My sinuses were finally clear today, after a week or more of hardly being able to breath through them. Maybe that was the difference.
So I opened a window to let the apartment air out. Washed the sap and chemicals off my hands - wormwood is poisonous, keep away from eyes, food, etc. The next plant was the desert ironwood, and it takes a more cautious approach, if only to avoid dulling the pruning shears. (Fun fact: the wood is dense enough that it sinks in water.) After 15-ish minutes of pruning, I noticed the odd smell again. The wormwood was on the other side of the room, but the scent was distinctly right nearby. I was beginning to suspect what it might be.
Another cleanup and a trip to the grocery store confirmed it. I could get the same smell from leeks and cabbage, with their roots still on. Even from the loose salad mix, although fainter. A smell not just of agriculture, but of animal life. A silent, vegetative scream - "I'm being eaten!"
I had a salad for dinner. It was delicious.
(Happy Rabbit Hole Day. I can't stand salad.)
So I opened a window to let the apartment air out. Washed the sap and chemicals off my hands - wormwood is poisonous, keep away from eyes, food, etc. The next plant was the desert ironwood, and it takes a more cautious approach, if only to avoid dulling the pruning shears. (Fun fact: the wood is dense enough that it sinks in water.) After 15-ish minutes of pruning, I noticed the odd smell again. The wormwood was on the other side of the room, but the scent was distinctly right nearby. I was beginning to suspect what it might be.
Another cleanup and a trip to the grocery store confirmed it. I could get the same smell from leeks and cabbage, with their roots still on. Even from the loose salad mix, although fainter. A smell not just of agriculture, but of animal life. A silent, vegetative scream - "I'm being eaten!"
I had a salad for dinner. It was delicious.
(Happy Rabbit Hole Day. I can't stand salad.)
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