the last surviving santana rose is finally in bloom, for the first time ever, after a couple of years of looking like it won't make it. i buried banana peels under the roots last year, and here we are. the buds are a deep wine red, the blossom an archetypical red rose, full and angular. the scent is faint but wonderful. i have plans for the petals in the kitchen, but it really is my father's plant and i have to at least wait for him to see the roses before harvesting.
i think i finally found some cinder conk, but i'm not absolutely certain. on the birch, it grew where a branch had been torn off, instead of right through the bark. other than that, it looks the part, char-like and fibrous. i haven't had a taste yet. if it's vanilla sweet, it must be chaga. between that and my reishi, perhaps i'll gain some vitality at last.
