A Story - "The Event". and thoughts on Leaves with White Markings

 A story:

The Event

Philip had been training for months.  Today was the day.  To warm up, he did some deep knee bends, waved his arms, stomped his fancy running shoes.  Mom gave him a high five.  Dad waited at the finish line.

Ready, set, go!  Philip was off.  Dad cheered wildly.

"Go, Phil, go!"

Mom held her breath as he charged along.

"Halfway there!"

They gasped as he wobbled.  Digging deep, Philip found his second wind and pushed to the end.

"Yeah! You made it!"

Grinning, Philip plopped down on his diaper-padded bottom.  He'd completed his first solo totter across the living room.

The acidentera bulbs and calla lily tubers that I got for free at the beginning of September have been growing quite well.  They were outside  on the deck for September and October, and only came in last week when we had frost.  I don't think the calla lily will bloom as the fall sun isn't very strong but I am pleased at how many leaves grew.  I will let it dry down now and give it a dormant spell December through February.  The acidentera should have bloomed as most bulbs have enough energy stored to bloom once but I'm not optimistic on that front.  Anyway, it makes some nice bright greenery at a dull time of year.  I will just throw the acidentera out when they have finished growing as the bulbs will be exhausted from being forced.  They are in water with some fertilizer.

I was looking at the calla leaves and realized that the white markings aren't actually white but are simply places where the leaves lack interior material.  Where it looks white, there is a thin leaf membrane on both top and bottom but nothing in between.

The lamium and the pulmonaria are different from the calla.  They both have a uniform leaf with the outer top layer having variation in colour.  Although the pulmonaria spots look white,  they are actually greyish and are very similar in colour to the back of the leaves. The pulmonaria also has hairs all over the leaves.

I was also thinking about plants that need resting periods.  Why do they? How do they know when it has been a long enough rest? Why does it sometimes have to be cold? So many things we don't know about plants.

All around us nature is amazing.