Yellow Fingers

I noticed an increasing number of people planting cacti. I was rolling my eyes, muttering to myself, "Hello!!! Cactus?! Eh super-daling alagaan yun. Saka sabi ng mommy pag nag-alaga daw ng cactus TATANDANG-DALAGA." *I know, right?*  Fast forward last weekend, may isang ale na nagbebenta ng stargazers and cacti sa sidewalk. The stargazers were so expensive, PHP650 for a flowering plant. The cacti were being sold for fifty pesos. Long story short: nakiuso ang lolah nyo. 

Yesterday, the first flower opened. I'm calling it Pinky. Well, the plant looks like it has five fingers, hence the name.

This morning, three flowers opened: Thumb, Ring, and Pinky, and the last seemed to be in a foul mood and closed its petals.

Thumb, meanwhile, is fully opened. So gorgeous, right? Perfect shade of yellow.

Apparently, prickly pears (Opuntia sp.), as they are called, are edible, high in dietary fiber, and are used in folk medicine to regulate blood sugar.

I'll just continue this tomorrow. I'm so sleepy na.

Continuation...

Hayan, alive, alert, awake, and enthusiastic na naman ako.

By the way, Index blossomed na. Late bloomer yata si Middle. Si Pinky, sullen pa rin. Teens nowadays...

As I mentioned last night, prickly pears fruits are edible as well as the pads and the petals. Careful though. They have tiny thorns, aside from the needle-like ones, that are so prickly. But being so tiny, they are difficult to remove using tweezers. A wiki tip is to cover your hands with glue then remove when dry. It should function like those nose masks that take take away the blackheads along with the dried glue. Perhaps when my cactus grows large enough, I can try cooking some pads and adding the petals to salads. *Salad? Who are you and what have you done with TPS?*