It's BLOOMING AND SMELLED SCARY

Hoya from Durian Perangin...

Light pink Hoya (Note the top left flower with 4 petals)

Dischidia sp?

I am so Lonely. Words cannot Describe.

Saw Ez on TV.

Didn't know that we can watch RTM1, RTM2, TV3 on the net.

Heh. Now we know.

Then repotted the plants. Broke off 1 huge N. bicalcarata pitcher. Beruk tol.

Takde mood dah nak mengubah pasu.

Went online. Geminians are a handful. Enuff said.

Then the phone rang. Unknown number.

Usually I dont answer unknown number but I did anyway. Safuan of S.I.M. band called to say hi...

That's really really really really really really really really really really really ODD.

Anyway, he called just to say hi.

So I continued repotting my plants. Layan sms ngan Ez. Menambahsemakkan umah aku. Cam biasa.

Then another unknown number. Land-line.

Angkat. Halo. Jabatan Bomba. Huh? Rupa2nya, benda yang aku booking dah sampai! Comel siot.

Aku belanja satu balai bomba sebab benda nih... Takpe, malam tak ramai offcier yang bertugas.

(Tiba2 je buat sora MC formal) Dengan ini, kami dengan berbesar hati, memperkenalkan my pet and also my long-term companion... (Sound effect) TADA!

My Baby waktu mula2 sampai umah.

My baby after 10 minutes stopped biting, sejuk, ske la tu tido atas tangan orang.

My Baby lagi... Comelkan?

Ok... Juliana told me that I'm crazy because of this. I am not crazy. Why a snake is better than a dog/cat/lover/scandal:

1. Snakes only bite when they're hurt/threatened.

2. Snakes can be cruel and bite, it's OK, because they're cold-blooded.

3. You can love them for years, and they still can bite/strangle you, their excuse: their snakes.

4. Snakes doesn't say bad things to your face just to piss you off.

5. Snakes doesn't yell at you when you make them go to the bank because you have no cash.

6. Snakes are cheaper to mantain compared to a girlfriend/boyfriend.

7. A snake doesn't sms you to ask you to go home straight from work because he/she wants something.

8. Snakes doesn't lie, even if they magically they could, they have forked tongue, what's your excuse?

I'm branching out...

Yes, I'm branching out. From Neps and Neps and more Neps, I've gone gaga over sarracenia, drosera and venus fly-trap (VFTs if they exists naturally in Malaysia, they'd be called Perangkap Lalat Puteri Gunung Ledang or Perangkap Lalat Mahsuri or Perangkap Lalat Tun Teja- SIGHS).

Unlike neps and sarracenia (which utilizes pitcher style traps to drown and digest their victims) Drosera traps their makan with tentacles topped with sticky goo. They shine in morning light so me being not so a morning person sometimes wakes up in time to see the morning light on them, they shine! More Drosera coming soon.

VFTs pulak uses bear-trap like traps. They're cute... Like kerang pontianak (cockels, bitten by a vampire with serious dental problem). They're doing OK, I guess as they survived the first week and then they started putting out new traps. Dia punya trap is triggered by stout hair looking like new under arm hair. 3 on each side. Sekali triggered will make them close slightly only. Then more stimulation (I just love that word, STIMULATION) is needed to make em go zippit and starts digesting the thing that stimulated the hair (sounds abit off, I know...)

So here's the good part... the pix...

Drosera Adelaea (doing the aerobics kick and shining in the morning light)

Drosera spatulata (note the clenched end of the big leaf, it's digesting something!)

Venus Fly-trap Red Form (VFT)

VFT Tall and Thin Green Form

VFT Short and Stout Green Form (saying- feed me Lisham, feed me!)

N. truncata

This is a pix of my n. truncata orange peristome that I got from 4zeplant. It arrived with a good pitcher (which like rihanna- good pitcher gone bad after being sent through post) and 1 small pitcher bud. This is a pix of the teeny tiny pitcher bud, all grown up, with mouth open begging for makan.

This is what I found when I "wikipedia"ed about n. truncata.

Nepenthes truncata (Latin: truncatus = terminating abruptly) is a carnivorous pitcher plant species endemic to the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. The typical form grows on exposed mountainsides at an altitude of between 230 and 600 m; a highland variety grows at higher elevations. N. truncata is characterised by its heart-shaped (truncate) leaves and very large pitchers, which can reach up to 50 cm in height.

On September 29, 2006, at the Botanical Gardens in Lyon, France, a Nepenthes truncata was photographed containing the decomposing corpse of a mouse. This incident is the first record of a mammal being successfully trapped in the pitchers of N. truncata. Both N. rajah and N. rafflesiana are known to occasionally catch small mammals in the wild.

N. Gracilis kot... Or It Could be N. x Ventrata

1. Picher Close-up

2. Another Pitcher Close-up

3. Comparisson of the whole Plant with N. x ventrata

4. Size Comparisson with a plastic chair.

N. Mirabilis ke ni?

I saved these (got 3 pots for RM30- that's RM10 each, plus another 2 n. x ventrata for a total of RM60. I kinda sorta rescued them from the auntie nursery owner as she cannot care for them... Got ulat munching the leaves, more dried leaves than green ones when I got them...

As you can see, the leaves got sopak-sopak merah (red speckles la) on the leaves exposed to Langkawi sun.

It's abit different from my N. mirabilis from Padang Serai.

Anybody can positively ID these as n. mirabilis?

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow...

Photo Caption : Brunfelsia Pauciflora (Top), Brunfelsia Americana (Bottom)

Both plants produce flowers that change color that last for three days, B. pauciflora changes from purple to white while B. americana changes from white to yellow back to white. Some people call them Lady of the Night, because they only smells nice for some people and scary for most people, at night. Most people call them Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.

What I did yesterday: Hang out with Miss B until 3 in the morning.

What I did today: MC for KEDA, International Group "Kampung Night". It feels good to do good, I mean like, when you do something for other people and expect to be paid, you only charge minimum as the people really need your help and the fact that they have no budget. it feels good to be able to speak. More like it feels good to be paid when all you need to do is just speak a few words and hold the program together. Some people had to work all day to get what I got tonight. some people had to work for 10 days for that amount of money. Thank you god, for this and everything.

What I have to do tomorrow: MC for Tadika Seri Taman Sports Day, later tomorrow night, a kenduri at Miss Bs' House.

I think I love my life. For someone who doesn't really exists, he's doing pretty good.

Plants Update: Baby Nephentes Hookeriana

A cute little Nephentes x hookeriana (that'll be Nephentes Rafflesiana+Ampullaria) from Malesiana Tropicals.

Plants Update: Baby Nephentes Veitchii

A cute little Nephentes Veitchii (hose mountain) from Malesiana Tropicals.

Nephentes Ampullaria- Blushing Mum and Her Baby...

Yay! It's a BOY!!!

p/s: that's not a "baby", that's what we call a basal shoot... Ngeee....

Plants Update- Dwarf Pomegranate Tree

Dwarf Pomegranate or scientifically known as Punica granatum 'Nana' or in Bahasa Malaysia- Pokok Delima "Bantut". Hahaha....

Plants Update- My Hangin Garden

This is a pix of my hanging garden... I think I'll call it "The Hanging Garden".

Well what can I say? It has ballooned from a single top layer into 4 layers in less than a month... So many mouths to feed, so little time (this is where I dramatically slapping my own forehead)

Plants Update- Rescuing Mirabilis and Ventricosa/Alata/Ventrata

Yesterday Miss Mirinda and myself went for breakfast/lunch/brunch at about 3pm++. I had to go out because I needed hooks to hang my plants. Anyway, we lunch to lunch and then went to the hardware store. Bought hooks and cable.

Went to the bank to draw some money to put gas for DFR (Dat Fookin Rover) and went to a nursery, it was closed, so went to another one. Ended up buying 3 dying Nephentes Mirabilis and 2 ventricosa/alata/ventrata for RM60, which was cheap. Got the hooks for free plus 2 mini pomegranate tree.

Then met Ms. Leo and had early dinner at one of the outrageously decorated eatery in town (they put test tubes in heart shaped wooden container and decorate that with fake-looking fake orchid).

Then time to go draw some more money and said goodbye to Ms. Leo and we went shopping. Bought another one of my favorite shirt as the old one torn due to abuse and over-use. And bought water spray for my plants and bought 2 hooded jackets as they're offering it with 70% discount.

Then when I came home, I realised... I'm a big spender (no, it's not about underwear).

And later last night, I called my mom just for chat.

Plants Update- Nephentes Bicalcarata Marudi

The famous fanged pitcher (periuk kera bergigi taring... huhu... I cant refrain myself from doing that...)

Plants Update- Nephentes Veitchii Hose Mountain

The top photo shows the whole plant. The lower one shows a diformed pitcher... Only lower half, top half dono gone where ... Wahlau.... Phua Chu Kang english oso got ah?

Brunfelsia Americana a.k.a. The Lady of the Night

OK, interesting thing about this one:

1. It first blooms white.

2. Turns yellow the next day.

3. Turns white again the next days' night.

4. Turns yellow again the day after the next days' night. (I know it sounds confusing but the flower last three days, blooming white, then turns yellow during the day and white again during the night and yellow and white and wilt.)

5. It blooms at night.

6. It smells nice at night.

7. Doesn't have any smell during the day.

Plants Update- Nephentes Ampullaria Green

I got this one almost a year ago and it's growing nicely. Pitchers are about 2 inches tall. Second pix from the top shows a snail living inside of the pitcher.

Colors of Caladium and Alocasia and Colocasia...

Colourful eh?