Introducing: "SAINT PAUL"

[Halcyon Daze]

To mark my rapidly approaching 3000th post and ascension to SAB's hall of fame. I've decided to do a giveaway and an introduction...

 

This is 'St Paul'. A beautiful chunky blue, seed-grown Peru with that lovely neat 'Torch' growth habit that some trichos are famed for.

 

The back story is that I was driving along in rural Queensland and I saw the owner, Paul, had started chopping a couple of his cactus down as they were about to hit his powerline. I was able to save a couple trailer loads of cacti that day, including the best one (St Paul) in it's entirety! It is one of the nicest peru's I've ever seen, based on the deep blue of some of the cuts and the tight torch growth habit. I literally pulled some cuts out of his wheelie bin, and gave him all I had in my wallet (which wasn't particularly much). In the end I thought the guy was such a legend I just had to name it in his honour, Cheers Paul, you are a true SAINT!  

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will have a couple for sale in the near future ( I have already traded a couple) but for now I plan to give away a nice tip each to the 2 winners of the comp (sharing is caring) 

 

So did you like my (real life) cactus tale? Because for this comp, entrants  must tell us their best cactus-related stories, tales, memories, events, legends, dreams, travels poems, or hell, just why they love cacti in general. Make it funny, sad, epic, silly, fan fiction or just downright interesting, I don't mind, lets just enjoy sharing in our best cactus tales and enjoy this as a tribute to the common hobby that we share.

 

Enter as many times as you like, but only one tale per entry, and they don't accumulate etc.

 

I plan to pick my favourite tale as the first winner, and the second winner will be decided by the most number of likes that tale gets, so get involved and get voting. Winners will be picked Saturday night the 9th June.

 

Have fun

 

 

 

 

Edited May 31, 2018 by Halcyon Daze

[Strontium Dawg]

You're already a legend Hal. Congrats mate, and that is a beauty!

[Inyan]

Beautiful specimen.

 

Glad you were there to come to its rescue!

 

As for cacti stories, I have many stories that I could relate and while many of them happened while I was engaged in ceremonies on the reservation out here, I don't think they are appropriate for this forum so I will leave it at that.

 

Thanks for sharing. Reading your post reminds me of a give-away which happens after every traditional vision quest. You are expected to give your supporters as well as the person putting you up on your vision quest a gift after the ceremony. Often a star blanket, a pipe, or something you know is particularly interesting or wanted by your supporters is the gift that one will try to pick out. So, basically the gift must be ideally a spiritual one or one that is unique to the individual in question.

 

For me, I see your gift as being unique to the entire community here.

 

Much like I find reading your posts a gift to the community here. 

[TheMooseZeus]

I have been known to "Borrow" cuttings of ceres cacti in my neighbourhood from the wealthy people of Sydney. One night my girlfriend and my I set out to get one of our first cacti, we chose a house just around the corner with one of the biggest cacti i have ever seen towering into the sky. The garden was raised above the road on a 3m or so wall. I clumsily scaled the wall paranoid about locals thinking i was breaking in, my girlfriend keeping look out and holding my pocket knife while I climbed. I reached down for my knife and put it in my teeth. The road lit up and a car came speeding down. We were blinded by the headlights so we had no idea who it could have been. I dropped off the wall with the knife still in my mouth. I hit the ground and we ran from the car terrified it was going to run us over, mistaking us as thieves. It sped up but eventually drove passed. Just happened to be two drunken teenage girls from our school... The knife managed to chip a tooth in the process and thankfully didn't cut up my face. 

 

That cactus is gorgeous by the way  

Congrats on 3000!

[SayN]

Your story's a hard act to follow but i'll try and try.

 

is that first pic the original plant?

[Halcyon Daze]

38 minutes ago, Inyan said:

 

 

For me, I see your gift as being unique to the entire community here.

 

Much like I find reading your posts a gift to the community here. 

 

 

Geez thanks dude,

 

Mainly i just try to keep the conversations rollicking along,  but thanks for the compliment.

 

I promise to strive to better myself and the community with these new 'powers'  now bestowed upon me...

 

It's quite possibly the happiest day of my life.

Edited May 31, 2018 by Halcyon Daze

[Halcyon Daze]

2 minutes ago, SayN said:

Your story's a hard act to follow but i'll try and try.

 

is that first pic the original plant?

 

Yes that's the one. You can see the shadow from the power line it's about to run into. It was the first time i'd ever driven past his place.

 

Big score

 

 

[SayN]

^ karma.  that's what i'm talking about.

[Horus]

Hey Hal, congrats on your stats.

Thats a beaut Cactus, and I really want a cut, so here is a tale for you.

If all you folks who were there vote, Im a shoe in for second. 

 

A couple of years ago I hosted a SAB camp on my property,

I wanted to make the event special and memorable, so I asked everybody

to send me their best cactus cut for a communal medicine.

Beautiful pieces of cactus started arriving thru the mail.

Each one with its own story, how it was gifted or traded. "swapped a bag of changa for this beauty" etc

It was wonderful to work with each piece, notice the differences as they gave up their medicine.

Each piece grown proudly with love, from a dozen medicine gardens. 

 

Its what we are about, to take things to the next level, everything an opportunity to excel,

to showcase all the attributes and enchantments of our plants. 

What better way to bond the fellowship of our plant family, than to share a medicine that represents all the love everyone has put into their cactus.

Soon afterwards a booming thunderstorm shook our little valley, the ancestor spirits who were duly respected and invited to join, us gave us a show and shower, renewal and reset, and the sun shone again creating steaming rocks and glistening leaves..........and big grins on all my SAB bros and sisters. Muchus Gratis Grandfather.

 

All the tips I rooted and planted on the property, a garden that represents that event, my friends and their gardens.

And in a couple of years we can regather and I can recreate that medicine..............

which was particularly good.

 

[etherealdrifter]

18 hours ago, Horus said:

Soon afterwards a booming thunderstorm shook our little valley, the ancestor spirits who were duly respected and invited to join, us gave us a show and shower, renewal and reset, and the sun shone again creating steaming rocks and glistening leaves..........and big grins on all my SAB bros and sisters. Muchus Gratis Grandfather.

 

That was some shindig brother and I do remember that thunderstorm - i'm sure we all did!!.

 

Standing there- all I could see were those figures walking towards us through the haze and rain but all I felt was a feeling of "Oh here they are, they've turned up to greet us!"

Geeez that was a great weekend @Horus.

 

Then we all walked to the top of the mountain and that eagle appeared and flew circles around us above our heads. 

Bloody beautiful way to share a smoke..............and that quiet hush that descended upon all of us is what nature is all about.

respect

[Mapacho]

inb4 this thread gets the boot lol.  I'll think on some memories.

[Halcyon Daze]

Yes please keep everything above board. Nothing suss please.

 

Here's a couple pics of my St Paul Tips and the two tips that will go to the winners.

 

Sorry about the crappy phone pix (taken after sundown) I'll get a better one tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 3, 2018 by Halcyon Daze

[freakazoid]

Hmmm.....could you, perhaps, give a more detailed definition of "above board/suss"? I mean, if it's a "keep it legal" kind of a thing you're after then talking about "what cactus means to me" might get kinda boring, for Australians, at least.

 

for example; "every day i look out my window at my garden full of columnar cacti, waiting, hoping, praying that, at some point, the lawmakers in this country will see reason....." 

 

then there's your Thomas Jefferson quote.....

 

 

not trying to call you out or nuthin', just wishing for an elaboration...... this comp. is particularly appealing to me..... 

[Halcyon Daze]

I just mean keep it legal and don't incriminate yourself etc. As per the Rules of the Forum etc.

 

Get your stories in soon. The 2 tips are cut and keen for new homes.

 

(grown in all day sun)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TheMooseZeus]

They look amazing!

[Gimli]

Don't have any stories but I'd love to get a piece privately if possible?

 

Looks like a great specimen

[freakazoid]

Ah, alrightie, 'tis as I feared. Well, I'll have a go with that in mind...

 

Once upon a time in a faraway land there was a kingdom with a terrible King. 

 The King, being the total prick that he was, had decreed 60 years ago that all magical plants are expressly forbidden, he sent his armies out hunting down magical plants and destroying them wherever they found them. Anyone found growing them was put in his dungeon and all their coins were forfeited into the King’s coffers. This was actually a fairly lucrative enterprise for the King but the King didn’t really care about that, he was already the richest person in the land. No, the king didn’t want anyone to have the magical plants because he knew what those plants existing out in the community would, slowly but surely bring his horrible rule to an end. you see, those plants gave people special abilities. People who used them wisely were given “The Vision”. They would be able to see with perfect clarity just how ridiculous and treacherous and corrupt and cruel the King truly was. He acted all tough but was actually scared shitless of the magic that they brought out.  

Now, also in this not so magical Kingdom, there lived a peasant named Noobie McSWIMmington. He lived in a small falling-down shack and worked all day for anyone who would employ him, doing odd jobs and menial tasks for a few measly coins. Just enough for food and firewood. Just enough to keep Noobie from starving or freezing to death. The king of this land was a ruthless tyrant who occasionally sent his guards around to Noobie’s house to take away one tenth of the coins Noobie had earned whether he wanted to give them the coins or not! Noobie thought that when someone takes your money without your permission that was basically theft but he knew if he protested too loudly that he too, would be put in the dungeon….something about Tax evasion…. But Noobie had a secret passion; he loved magical plants! He had never even seen one in the flesh but he had read books and heard stories about all the wonderful things those plants could do and he yearned to one day get his hands on one and see what all the fuss was really about. Real Magic!

Then one day Noobie received a web letter. A slightly secret open invitation from the Secret Magical Plant Society to anyone who so dared to meet in the graveyard and maybe, just maybe get your hands on some actual, real, magical plants!

Noobie’s heart leaped, he knew this was his one chance at freedom, one chance to learn from the wizards and gain new cherished friends and most of all see this Kingdom with True Sight like he had read about each night. 

With much apprehension and fear, he accepted the invitation, half expecting it to be just another one of the kings traps. On his way to the graveyard he began to sweat, not because the day was hot or the walking, hard-going, he sweated because he was nervous. He didn’t want to end up in a dreary cold dungeon just for being in the vicinity of those special plants but his courage kept him going.

When he arrived he was delighted, not one guard to be seen! Instead there were dozens of lovely, lovely people who greeted him with open arms. “Welcome Noobie! Glad you could make it!” and everyone laughed and shared food and drink and swapped some magical plants and had a wonderful time. “this is how it’s done” thought Noobie. “These are the people how have their heads on right” and slowly, Noobie’s knowledge of magical plants grew and his skills using True Sight grew too. He knew that his decision to go to the graveyard was a risky one, but it was the right one. He learned secret ways and learned how to hide magical plants all over the place. A funny thing about the magical plants and True Sight is he could now see clearly and the King and his guards could not so Noobie had the upper hand. The plants taught him what to do and when to do it and where, and by the time Kings guards came and knocked on his door again, he had even been taught by the plants how to make things invisible to the people who, he now knew, had been mostly blinded by the Kings evil ways.

 

And Noobie McSWIMmington and his shack full of magical plants (mostly) lived happily ever after……

 

True story  with just a few details changed to protect the......interested parties.....who are also interested in parties....

[Halcyon Daze]

LOL Now That's what I'm talking about freakyZ everything above board. Great story, I love when good triumphs over evil. I think Noobie McSwimmington may even get some good luck sometime soon. Here's Hoping

 

 

Here's another St Paul Pic, Tips about as thick as a 2L coke bottle. LOL I gotta get off that shyt.

 

Edited June 4, 2018 by Halcyon Daze

[Horus]

Glad I was in the graveyard to welcome Noobie Mcswimmington into the Secret Plant Society.

Well written account, and I will be happy if the wizards apprentice beats me to the prize.

So makes the point that the most beneficial medicines and healing modalities are criminal acts.

To be a healer in our society you need to be an outlaw.  

[freakazoid]

Hee hee, the graciousness and generosity of folks ‘round here overwhelms on almost a daily basis. 

 

@Horus ya know, it was nearly gunna be “The Tale of the Wizards’ Birthday Party and the Enchanted Sombero” but that would have been jumping in at about Chapter 5...

 

I’m sure, between Hal and the two winners, there’s gunna be St. Pauls popping up all over the place in the not too distant future.

[SayN]

Lol - FreakyZ - you even changed the ruthless tyrant to a king!  

 

Now go write that Tale of the Wizards’ Birthday Party and the Enchanted Sombrero...

 

A short time ago in a galaxy a lot closer than you think the great wizard Harold sent forth invitations far and wide calling his apprentices...

[freakazoid]

 

Well….noobie seems to be getting a bit of traction but I mean, by Chapter 5: The Night of the Cactus Supermen, Noobie had made it all the way down to Meh!HeeckO; the region south of the The Bulls Kingdom, past The Fence, for a weekender, visiting the cactus for the first time, like a greatest night of his life, but heaps happened in-between. The segway to Chapter 2 for example…

 

That was until one day the king and some henchmen came knocking at Noobs door. 

Knock knock knock

*erherm* coughed the the Headguard of his personal Azure Guard of the Thpethawl Forthethes Unit. Typically, an appearance of the The King on the streets would be announced by a Mouthguard. But knocking on an “Unknown’s” door called for a Headguard to make first contact. Protocol. in the Azures handbook it was referred to as the Irish kiss manuevere. Then he began to shout. “Your Lord the King! King Malcuntent Turner the Bullisht wishes you to step forth! Peasant!”...... they waited and listened for a long time and then, spontaneously, without knocking, the Headguard started up again. “The all conquering, all conolizing, ever present Malcuntent requires you to exit this building!” And they waited and listened some more. 

But, unbeknownst to them, a much longer time before that, Noobie knew they were coming so he slipped out the back with his ( blatantly plagiarised ) Scramble Suit on, and off to watch a movie screening. 

“Sire! There doesn’t seem to be anyone home.” “Blast it!” Said The Bull. No one would dare refer to him as The Bull within earshot if his actual person, what with all the embowelments that he insisted on in retribution/embarrassment and all, but I digress,  “if he’s not home then I guess we’ll just haft to wait” said the King...”Wait! There’s a note on the door!” He asked his reader to fetch it.

 

You’re invited to a Terence McKenna movie night. Tonight! Light refreshments served at 5. Movie starts at 7 sharp. $10 a head 60 tickets available. The Queen.

 

“Fuck I didn’t know there was a Queen”said the Bull, in fact, at that precise moment in that kingdoms history, no one else in the kingdom had ever heard of the Queen neither. "Perhaps, that is where he has gone?"..............

 

Edited June 5, 2018 by freakazoid

[smi2le]

Mad Props freakaziod ... very entertaining ...

[SayN]

Geez - I hope there was a missing "to be continued" in there somewhere.  Is Noobie getting it on with the Queen?!?

[Strontium Dawg]

You forgot the part where noobie made one of the guests a soothing cup of tea after the guest fell out of his chair, having been bewitched by three toots of a magical steamwhistle! That cup renewed his spirits majestically!