Posted by Lieutenant Commander Faye Calloway (Counter-Intelligence Officer) in Captain’s Quarters - Dancing On Toes, Losing The Rhythm

Posted by Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) in Captain’s Quarters - Dancing On Toes, Losing The Rhythm

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Faye Calloway (Counter-Intelligence Officer) in Captain’s Quarters - Dancing On Toes, Losing The Rhythm
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Without missing a beat, he said “Vulcan Hibiscus. My mom’s favorite. And marigolds… my favorite.” He gave a final tug and the problem plant came free and none of the surroundings were any the worse for wear. “Done! I am a master gardener now, right?” and he laughed.

Alex

Faye laughed as well. “Sure. And there’ll be a nice spot for the hibiscus in that corner near you. The size should work out alright and with a bit of consistent pruning would work look really nice here. Marigolds are easy. They tuck into the small bare spots and we can start seeds in the greenhouse or sow them directly. Whichever you prefer.”

~Faye

“In for a penny, in for a pound. Let’s do the whole course. Greenhouse to start them, then.” He looked around the garden and said “You ever hear of the old Earth tradition, Day of the Dead? Not Halloween. This was a celebration in the Latin countries, I think. Anyway… do you know it?”

Alex

Faye shook her head. “No, I don’t think I’ve heard of it,” she said as she gestured with her head to the greenhouse. At least then she could get a basket for the pile of peppers in her shirt. Moving off, several dropped out and she muttered. “Help , please. We have escapees!”

~Faye

Alex bent low and scooped up the loose ones and then stood up and caught up to her. “Prisoners captured, Ma’am.” and he brushed one off and popped it in his mouth. “One was killed trying to escape.” The heat was solid, but the flavor was amazing.

Alex

“Good, eh?” Faye said, her eyes gleaming. “Not as good as the seed pods I put in the hasperat, but oh the salsas we can make with these!”

Faye grabbed a basket and rolled the peppers out of her shirt before handing it to Alex. “Okay, so seed starting. You need to satisfy three requirements: growing medium, light and water. The bigger the seed, and the harder the casing, typically the longer to germinate, but that’s not a firm rule at all.” Faye moved over to the corner of the greenhouse here there was a storage shelf with a large cupboard at the bottom with a solid metal door. In fact it was a climate controlled storage compartment with a display that you only noticed once you touched it. Faye entered in a code and a lock clicked open, allowing her to open the door. Inside was trays upon trays of seed packets all sitting upright. She looked over at Alex and grinned. “The Botany department has a much larger seed library, but we keep the most frequently grown once here. People are free to store their personal seeds in here in marked trays but access is limited for obvious reasons.” One stupid move could spoil all the seeds, or ruin germination rates, and some of those seeds were really hard to grow in the first place.

“Any particular colour of marigold you want? I’ve always been partial to the yellow French marigolds, but there are tons of options and I have a good sampling here of Terran species.”

~Faye

“Terran, good. Orange. The Aztec Marigold if you have it. If not, I’m open. Orange, though. Dia de Los Muertos needs orange ones. And I plan on a Day of the Dead celebration if I can get these to grow.” and he chuckled.

Alex

Faye smiled. “They’re pretty easy, so you’ll have them,” she said as she rifled through the seed packets, looking for one that would be suitable. “So tell me about this celebration and why you like it much.”

~Faye

Alex said “Ok, so Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, started several thousand years ago with the Aztec, Toltec, and other native Central American Earth peoples. They considered mourning the dead disrespectful. For them, death was a natural phase in life’s long continuum. The dead were still members of the community, kept alive in memory and spirit. During Día de los Muertos, they temporarily returned to Earth. Modern Día de los Muertos celebrations are a mash-up of pre-Hispanic religious rites and Christian feasts. It takes place on November 1 and 2—All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day on the old Catholic calendar, in order to coincide with the time of the fall maize harvest.” He looked at Faye and then leaned against a table.

“The centerpiece of the celebration is an altar, or ofrenda, people built and maintain in private homes and familial cemeteries. These aren’t altars for worshipping; rather, they’re meant to welcome spirits back to the realm of the living. As such, they get loaded with offerings—water to quench thirst after the long journey, favorite foods, family photos, and a candle for each dead relative. If one of the spirits is a child, you might find small toys on the altar. Marigolds are the main flowers used to decorate the altar. Scattered from altar to gravesite, marigold petals guide all the wandering souls back to their place of rest. People use smoke from copal incense, made from a tree resin, to transmit praise and prayers and purify the area around the altar.” He looked around the green house, but his eyes focused elsewhere.

“I want to have us remember all those that came before us. I think being so far from home, remembering them may help us stay grounded in why we do what we do.”

Cochrane, CO