I want it said of me by those who knew me best,
that I always plucked a thistle and
planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.
[Abraham Lincoln, birthday February 12, 1809]

A friend who knows me well enough to know that my gardening thumbs are not green gave me this orchid for my birthday last November. I’ve always wanted an orchid but figured it would only last a week if consigned to my care. I’ve posted this to prove my lovely orchid is just as pretty after two and a half months!

Valentine gift advice: Buy her an orchid. It lasts longer than cut flowers and is so elegant (like her, I’m sure).

Side effect warning: I’ve developed an urge to read all of the Nero Wolfe books I can find (Rex Stout wrote over seventy). Both Nero W. and Rex S. were orchid lovers.