Snapdragons!

November 6--Snapdragons in full bloom

I first bought the snapdragons when we lived in our "starter house"--a twee little yellow house on a quiet street in a small town 10 minutes from where I live now. The snapdragons were in a 6-pack from the greenhouse up the street. I used to walk there, pulling Mr. T in his red wagon and loading the plants up around him each spring.

When we built our new house 6 years ago, I divided and pulled half of my old gardens in hopes of having a kick-start for my new. My original Sedum, Catmint, Bee Balm, Asters, Mint, Thyme, Lavender, Coneflowers, Black-Eyed Susans, Hostas and the snapdragons got transplanted into a mound of dirt and survived a long, hot, dry summer until our house was done and our yard was leveled out. Once replanted (again), I babied these plants along and the following year began putting them where they'd root and grow for years to come.



These snapdragons, begotten from their kin bought at Reynebeau Floral so many years ago, reseed themselves and spread across a small flower bed alongside the front porch. Each spring I dig some up and put them in planters on our back patio where they've done really well. What amazes me is where they do best.

They've reseeded and thrive in the crack between our back patio and the walls of our house. Odd? Yes. Unepxected? Absolutely. And I love them even more for it!

They're like the Godzilla of Flowers!

Tune in tomorrow for the Bumble Book Club report featuring our guest Jess Riley!

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Many, Movie Monsters

Team Testosterone enjoys Japanese monster movies--Godzilla movies to be precise. With all the great children's programming available (Arthur, Dragontales, Sesame Street, Cyber Chase, Fetch, Maya and Miguel), my children prefer Godzilla movies circa 1965-1969, dubbed in English so the actors' lips never move in sync with the dialogue. The plots always involve the destruction of our planet by aliens (Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, Godzilla vs. Gigan) or the destruction of our planet by human efforts (Godzilla vs. Mothra, Godzilla vs. Biollante) and the message about protecting our fragile Earth by not messing with science is always reiterated in the final scene. Sometimes Godzilla is a good monster, battling to protect Japan and the rest of the earth from the invading aliens (Godzilla vs. Mothra) or even putting an end to terrorist organizations like the Red Bamboo (Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster). Other times, Godzilla is the enemy, such as in Destroy All Monsters where he goes on a rampage smashing New York City to bits and tearing up subway cars and skyscrapers. I don't know why or how the switch from bad monster to good monster takes place, but Team Testosterone seem to accept it as a matter of course.

What is more interesting than their endless fascination with these really bad B movies ("Ichiro! Look out! Godzilla has escaped from Monster Island!") is their ongoing debate about which monsters are stronger and more powerful. Godzilla? Mothra? Manda? Baragon? Kumonga? Rodan? Anguirus? Ebirah? Kamacuras? Gabara? Arguments break out over whether Godzilla could kick Gabara's reptile ass and they ask me for answers to their profound questions about how Anguirus got his power and Mothra's gender.

Most interesting to us all is why Toho Studios never bought the rights to tell the tale of Godzilla vs. Gammera the Invincible. Gammera starred in 8 movies and yet never made it to the silver screen against Godzilla, who even battled against King Kong in the classic film Godzilla vs. King Kong. The Godzilla vs. Gammera question drove me to a place I thought I'd never end up in a million years--in an Internet chat room with seriously geeky monster movie fans discussing the finer points of Godzilla movies. The things we do for love.

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