1st

the fisher fair was last week and in fisher thats a big deal. So, my mom printed out a number of my photos to enter in the fair. You can win money if you get placed and low and behold I got a first on one of my photos. Since its Fisher I am not like uber excited...but hey, I got $10.00. You can see the winning photo and ribbon below. Speaking of Fisher I made a little friend on the phone today. I had to call Cingular or AT+T-whoever they are- about my cell phone and the issues it has. Paul was a great help to me and he accidentally hung up on me and called me back. I noticed he had a 217 area code-which is the area code at home. So I said something to him and he was like..."Well, do you know where the UI is?" i was like "HECK YEAH!! Im from Fisher" and he said "well, we are in Rantoul"-which is like 10 mins from Fisher. And then he was like..."oh...so you were a Fisher Bunnie?" And I said..."yep, you know it!" So we bonded on that-even though he didn't really solve the problem. In case you are reading this and don't know what a Fisher Bunnie is----it was my High School Mascot..yep...Bunnies...pretty cool-huh? ;)














Tonight I went to Walmart b/c I have been so sad since my ants expired and I have nothing exciting in my office. I was hoping to purchase a venus fly trap-but alas they didn't have any. So....I found this unique thing instead-The Amazing Air Fern! Supposedly it needs no water, soil or anything...so I bought it b/c how many people actually have an Air Fern?? Yeah....I bet you wish you did. Anyways....when I came home I did a little research to figure out what this odd, slightly ugly thing was...here is what I discovered:

Air ferns (Sertularia argentea) are commonly sold as a curiosity or a decorative "indoor plant", and as underwater decorations for aquaria in stores, and are labeled as "air ferns" or "Neptune plants". Air ferns do not grow, have any roots, or even have leaves, as they are not even plants, but dead and dried colonies of small animals called hydrozoans that have been dyed green. If soaked in water, the green coloring will dissolve. They belong to the phylum Cnidaria, class Hydrozoa. The fernlike branches of S. argenta are composed of many small, chitinous chambers where individual animals once lived. When the colony was alive, a polyp with numerous tentacles occupied each of the chambers, called hydrotheca. Also, note that some bryozoa are sold as "air ferns."^[2] Most commercial air ferns are collected by trawlers in the North Sea.

What is an air fern and how should it be cultured for maximum growth? I was born in the dark but NOT last night! Don't hold your breath waiting for your "air fern" to grow. You may turn blue in the face. The air fern, which is billed in stores and some garden centers as a plant that needs no water or fertilizer, is actually the skeletal remains of a tiny sea animal called Sertularia, a distant relative of coral. The skeletons look like ferns and have extremely fine foliage. In stores they are also sold as "air plants" and "air moss". The skeletons are collected by ships which dredge for them along coastal areas in the estuaries of streams and rivers. They are then treated with chemicals and dyed green. If you have an air fern, don't water or fertilize it -- this exercise will be similar to trying to feed a corpse. And even worse, the water removes the dye and bleaches the stems. Also, if the air fern has been shipped or stored for any length of time, it is likely to have a rather strong odor, not entirely pleasant. It's best to let the fern air out before putting it in a closed room

OK..thats just weird! BUT perfect for my office of strange items! So...I am quite glad I have a dead, dried colony of small animals. My office friends continue to grow and grow! Welcome Little Air Fern!