Emergent success

© harrington

Look really, really hard. Can you see the seedlings emerging from the peat. There's three of them (I think). A belatedly arriving Christmas present from my wonderful wife was a bonsai kit containing seeds for dawn redwoods, peat moss amended potting soil, growing pots made of some kind of organic fiber (coconut?), a soil/root rake and a pair of scissors, plus a growing container to hold the "forest." For almost a week after I planted forty or fifty seeds it looked as if none of them were going to germinate. Then, life emerged. This whole process started me wondering if seeds, dormant as they are, are alive. They scientific answer turns out to be Yes. Metabolic processes at the cellular level are, for me, right up (down?) there with the Higgs-Boson particle so I'm really glad the seed's cellular processes functioned and the cells grew enough for me to notice seedlings with my naked eyes (and camera). Seeing green, growing things in late-January gives me hope that what passes for Spring in My Minnesota may actually arrive, geese and cranes will return from southern climes, life will emerge from hibernation and dormancy, and bass bugs won't bounce when I cast them on the water. I'll continue to report from time to time on the success (or not) of this exploration into bonsai trees from scratch and such other goings-on as I think may be of interest or encouragement.