Why didn't I think of that? Well thanks for the inspiration hunterharmony. I'll never lay flowers on the scanner again without thinking of the possibilities.

We have our daughter Corey to thank for bringing Fred into our lives. He was a stray, picked up by a rural animal shelter. He dodged his first bullet by landing in the Tompkins County SPCA's no-kill shelter, where she was volunteering. He was a bit unruly, peeing on the rabbit cage on the way out when we took him for a test walk. But when Corey drew a picture of 'Zorro' (as he was known at the SPCA because of his mask) with the word 'Please' underneath and hung it outside our bedroom door, we couldn't turn them down. He terrorized our other dog, Jade, for three weeks before they became fast friends. And he's been family ever since.

As I look back through old photos, I remember that Fred was a constant companion in the garden. In spring (he complements double bloodroots well) ...

Summer (I have a bowl full of these 'outhouse plants' on the counter ready to be shipped to internet friends) ...

Fall (at sunrise, our morning ritual) ...

And winter.

He dodged a second bullet when he had to undergo surgery for these bladder stones (the largest one is bigger than a marble) and developed complications. But he made a miraculous recovery.

Fred loved belly rubs.

Fred loved helping Elly in the Airstream.

Fred loved his buddy Jade.

Fred loved surveying the garden.

Fred loved going out in his red coat even when the weather was foul.

Fred loved running through the snow.

And we all loved Fred.

More than two years ago, Fred was diagnosed with a massive lung tumor. He had maybe two weeks or two months. But we had an amazing two-plus years instead. The last day of his life, he could not breath while lying down. The big guy stood tall until the end.

May I be half the man that my dog thought I was. May I be half the dog that he was.

Thanks to all who helped us care for Fred over the years, especially Grandma Eunice and the folks at Fountain House Veterinary Clinic.

More info at the Titan arum blog.

Crocus

Hellebore

Iris reticulata

Iris histrioides 'Katharine Hodgkin' (thanks Lynn!)

Don't know how this pulmonaria hitched a ride into the garden. Ugly foliage but great flowers.

Pussy willows were in their prime one of the few days I was home early enough to take pix.

Time lapse:

Shows spathe opening on March 18, 2012. Audio description by graduate student Gwynne Lim is from March 19. Larger version at CornellCast. HD version coming next week.

The spadix collapsed on March 22, 2012. Don't fret. Ph.D. candidate Gwynne Lim told me early that day that it was hollow and could go over anytime. "We went to the greenhouse early this afternoon and the appendix was ripping at the seams just above the male flowers," says Lim. "It looks so sad." View the 7-hour collapse in 30 seconds below or on YouTube.

More info at Titan arum blog.

• Huffington Post slideshow - Must see!
• Titan arum at Cornell University
• Ithaca Journal slideshow - Great article too.
• More images via Google

Here's a screen capture from the lighting test tonight:

Live video for mobile from Ustream

You won't see anything in the stream until daylight. But we will light it when the bloom opens (possibly this weekend) until 11 p.m. Eastern Time.

While the commercial runs, you can read more about what's going on here.

Did I mention: This species has only flowered in cultivation 140 times? If you're in the neighborhood, it's worth a trip over to see it.

More pictures here.

Cornell Agricultural Experiment Station greenhouse grower Jenny Rothenberg and greenhouse manager Andy Leed admire the Titan Arum, or “corpse plant,” which is expected to bloom later this week. Photo by Vitaliy Darovskikh/Cornell University