Bernard does not technically count as a "pet"
but he might as well be considering how much attention and love I give him.
Bernard's big fancy scientific name is Paphiopedilum lowii,
but simply he is a Ladyslipper orchid. I swear, I feel all lovely and exotic
just having him around.  Like all good plant owners, I talk to Bernard. After his's first bloom, I found that I was habitually (obsessively) talking to his flowers. It took me a good week to realize that I was misdirecting that attention. The flowers, though important, are merely showy appendages to those leafy greens and to, even more importantly, a sturdy root system. It occurred to me that talking to Bernard's flowers is about the equivalent of talking to a loved one's hand (well actually their genitalia, but lets not go there). Touching perhaps, but mostly ineffective (and likely inappropriate!). It was a hard habit to break. I still pay attention to the flowers. Its impossible not to, but I have been doing my damnedest to focus on the real Bernard: the sensual curves of his leaves, his rich almost glowing greens... and then theres what lies beneath that tawdry covering of spanish moss... Did I say I was feeling exotic? That was a typo. |