[Sacred Succulents] Nursery News & New Auction-Fundraiser

[Sacred Succulents]

Greetings botaniphiles,                             
                                                          This has
proven to be a most calamitous year.                             
                                                          We  lost
most of the last 2+ months and Sacred Succulents has been  virtually
‘shut down’ during this time. Our eldest daughter brought  covid
home from camp at the beginning of August; the girls recovered 
quickly, but I was hit pretty hard -- it took me nearly 6 weeks to get
 my energy back and 10 weeks on now I’m still experiencing some 
exasperating cognitive impairment. In addition, there’s been a
cascade  of family matters that have consumed my time.                
            
                                                          We are doing
all we can now to turn our attention back to the nursery, catch up
with a backlog of email and prepare for winter.                       
     
                                                          There  was a
period of extreme, flash heat while we were incapacitated with  covid
-- this caused a fair amount of damage within the nursery, even to 
some of the _Trichocereus_, which had barely recovered from winter 
injuries. The irrigation system recently installed in some sections of
 the nursery prevented all out catastrophe. We can say, unequivocally,
 that we’ve lost more plants in 2023 than any other year in Sacred 
Succulents 25 year history. We’ve also accomplished less propagation
 this summer than any I recall. We’re uncertain to what extent this
will  impact our offerings in future seasons, but right now it means
our  retail lists are in need of significant revision -- a task which
I’m  unlikely to accomplish until this winter. In the interim,
we’re not handling seed orders until sometime in 2024 and
availability should be confirmed via email for all _retail_ plant
orders.                             
                                                                      
              We  had planned to launch new Mini-Auction over a week
ago...while also  working to salvage plants damaged by this year’s
capricious weather and  scrambling to get the nursery prepared for
winter. Unfortunately,  juggling one-too-many tasks led to a sunburn
mishap with about 1/3 of  the plants intended for auction when they
were left in the bright  photo-shoot locale for a few hours during a
sudden heat spike! Sigh. New  plants have now been selected, freshly
photographed and:
A new Plant Mini Auction-Fundraiser has begun!       
                      This is the second auction to list Seed--_which
is open to international bidders_! Plants remain for US bidders only.
Due to this year's adversities, a _number of plants will only  be
available via auction this year, and many of these only as a one  time
offering_. Know  that auction purchases directly fund nursery repairs
and renovations as  well as our continual research and conservation
work.See partway down our homepage for the auction terms and listings:
www.sacredsucculents.com                                       Please
read the full terms before bidding. _All bids should be directed to
our other email:_ benkamm at monitor.net   
 The auction closes this Thursday, October 26, at 6:00pm Pacific
Standard Time. 
Our Specimen Plant List is updated for October, see just below the
auction on the homepage.
       Other News:       
                For several years I’ve been contributing plants to
Steve White and Jill Pflugheber’s fascinating scientific art
project, Microcosms  -- wondrous images of American sacred plants
produced through confocal  microscopy. The site was just updated -- a
few sections now feature my  Andean photos, with more to come.
 You can read my commentary on the project:
https://www.microcosmssacredplants.org/commentary/ben-kamm/
 I’ve also contributed an article on the Andean keystone tree
_Polylepis_  (A larger article is in the works, but the hectic summer
and my  daughters bringing covid home from camp interrupted, so
they’ve posted  this smaller [quite literally fever written!] piece
as a ‘placeholder’)  - 
https://www.microcosmssacredplants.org/plant/polylepis-spp/  
                New Offering:       
                The PLEASURE: Animist Encounters with Poison Oak   
~signed copies!~
 by Erik Davis, illustrations by David Y. D’Andrea
 Lessons from the Poison Path
 A lively and fascinating essay by our good friend Erik Davis,
inspired  by a hike we took just downstream of Sacred Succulents the
first summer  of the pandemic. Poison oak is a integral member of
California’s  ecology, a plant that demands attention and prudence,
yet little has be  written about this adaptable species and many
mysteries still surround  the wily nature of _Toxicodendron
diversilobum_. Scratching beneath  the surface of science and legend,
Erik keenly discerns poison oak’s  anthropomorphic qualities,
including that of a fierce and mercurial  guardian, a tricky teacher,
and a vigorous ally to the endangered  “wilds”. A must read for
all who’ve encountered the plant and it’s  troublesome
effects—what some perversely describe as the pleasure. With a 
gorgeous full color cover and interior black & white illustrations, 
this informative chapbook is a lovely limited collector’s item. Our 
copies are signed by the author.
 10   ~  Copies, Signed Chapbook, 24 pages $20 (8 oz)
BOOKS: Even though our catalog offering of books is greatly reduced
these days, we still have a few excellent titles available, and we
remain the US distributor for Jonathan Ott's work (we are currently
working           with Jonathan to publish reprints of some of his
long out-of-print books and several exciting new titles in the coming 
         years.)~~~~~~~~       
          Through  the calamities and obstacles of recent years we
persist in our efforts  to care for life here in all its myriad forms.
You have our perpetual  gratitude for your patience and support! 
Regards,     Ben Kamm and family,
Sacred Succulents: Rare &         Endangered Beneficial Plants & Seeds
         Conservation of Resilient               Biodiversity through
Propagation, Dissemination and               Education
    PO Box 781
 Sebastopol, CA 95473 USA
 http://www.sacredsucculents.com
We do not take Paypal or other online payments. Still just cash, check
or money order to our PO box. 
Shipping for Books                To determine shipping costs, add up
the number of lbs in parentheses ( ) that is listed after the
price.Priority Mail- add $10 for the first lb, $2 for each additional
lb. When ordered with plants just add $2 for each lbBooks only sent
Media Mail – add $5 for the first lb, $1 for each additional
lbPlease email us for international shipping costs         
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