Wild Kingdom in our back yard: Katydid about to get eaten by Miranda

I have a thing with Carnivorous plants. They're just too cool.

Last Mother's Day I sent The Wife to the local Orchid show with some money and said "get something that makes you happy." It was her first Mother's Day after all. She came home with the most amazing plant -- a Nepenthes Miranda Asiatic cobra plant. It's gorgeous.

I must plug Sarracenia Northwest here. They are a local Portland Oregon plant nursery that specializes in carnivorous plants. I'm happy they had a display at the Orchid show so the wife could run into this impressive plant. If you ever had an itch to get a carnivorous plant, click that link and see just how much variety and information they provide.

So -- on to the video.

Today when I came home for lunch I saw a bright green leaf on one of the pitchers. Then I saw it move. I got closer and saw that it was a Katydid. I've never seen one in our area so Miranda did quite a job of luring him in from who-knows-where. Amateur video to follow.



And the video in which I find out my flip camera software has no "rotate left" option in its edit options. Sorry 'bout that, but I'm posting it anyway.



Enjoy beautiful plants eating bugs,

Bp


[photograph via Petflytrap]

Saturday Morning Awesome: Wingnut Confections

What is more awesome than candy? Well locally made, organic, fair-trade, vegan bike-delivered candy of course!

Wingnut Confections is the brain-child my friend Dave Beer. With a history as a pastry chef, and an adoration of dark chocolate, he decided to create candies of an entirely different caliber. Since Dave has plenty of friends with an intolerance to dairy, he worked to create luscious chocolate without it. He figured it out.

I can vouch for the truffles, they're amazing. They're fantastic. He has some trippy flavors as well, including Thai Chili, and Habanero Mole.



I don't know that I could say what my favorite truffle is, but some days its Thai Chili, and others (many others) its Earl Grey. Of course there is much research yet to do, as he has candied Oregon nuts, candied citrus, and Goji berry/Brazil nut clusters that I haven't even tried yet.

It's a rough assignment, but I'll do it -- for you, the reader.

Where do you get em? First off -- you can get them on line. Better yet, you can find Dave at the People's Farmer's Market year round (Wednesdays) and Saturdays at the Hollywood Farmer's Market (which just opened May 2nd). They are also carried in many local stores, including Whole Foods, the Alberta Co-op Grocery, and Proper Eats (among many others, check the link).

Now if I can only convince Dave to start mass-producing his fruit meade so I can have it more often...

Enjoy your friends pulling off epic business feats,

Bp

[all photo credits at the Wingnut Confections website]