New leaf, old leaf

After a number of phone calls and emails (my fault for getting things wrong on the application form) I am a card-carrying member of the Genetics Society!

I wound up work at the desk around 6:00 pm yesterday and headed out for a long walk to check out the local Aldi and pick up a few bits and pieces.

Haribo Smurfs at Aldi.

And traditional edelweiss shirts.

Frogs. Not the most interactive of pets.

Same goes for lizards.

The local garden centre sells cobblestones.

So much colour.

Even though a lot of the vegetables were gone, there was no reduction in the number and variety of plants.

I think these were a bit too purple for the mobile phone camera.

A half dozen little lavenders.

I hadn't noticed these before, but the garden centre also had maple trees.

They didn't look very healthy...

And the price tag was a lot more than the little one I got.

I thought these were cacti...

But they turned out to be Alpine plants! Very interesting.

Although I'd gone to the garden centre to get boxes and earth for my radishes, I decided against it. The seeds will keep until next year, and even if they don't they were just a few francs. I should concentrate on getting things right with the stuff I already have. I noticed little black flies in the soil and it seems like they're a sign of over-watering, so I held off over the past few days and the salad leaves are coming on like nobody's business. Neglect it is.

Ikea were selling off terracotta pots so I got half a dozen small ones - they seem to be sold out of the bigger one I wanted to use to repot the maple. I got a little stand for it and it's now outside my office window to cheer me up when I see it's lovely distinctive leaves.