Tag Archives: Have a Safe Weekend

The cold front hitting Dallas this weekend makes us all VERY glad we’re not trying to conduct outdoor shows: the 2022 Porch Sales are officially over, so that means that this weekend’s open house moves inside. The Triffid Ranch opens on Saturday from noon until 5:00 pm: the flytraps and North American pitcher plants are now going into winter dormancy, but the gallery will have a lot of other plants, including some new surprises. It’s the beginning of a new season for carnivorous plant enclosures, so people coming out this weekend get to be the first people on the planet to see Texas Triffid Ranch 3.0 in its next stage.

This next week is going to get busy even by Triffid Ranch standards, and my threats to develop a vaccine for sleep may stop being mere threats. Details will follow soon enough, but my parents are going to be severely disappointed once again. It’s to the point where this weekend’s Porch Sale may not actually be the absolute last one for 2022 (come out on Saturday between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm to see the explosion of Sarracenia leucophylla this autumn): again, details will follow.

This weekend, the Triffid Ranch hits the road…well, a little. The plan is to head down Interstate 35 to Outfit Brewing on Saturday, October 15 for the latest Crow’s Alley Flea Market, running from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm. With luck, we won’t get rained out. See you there.

Well, the Triffid Ranch didn’t win a Best of Dallas Award this year, so it’s back to the linen mines. (Again, absolutely honestly, it was a privilege to be nominated, as it wasn’t anything I was expecting in the first place.) If you’re not local, keep an eye open for the latest newsletter. If you are local, the Saturday Porch Sales continue on September 24 from 10 am to 3 pm, and expect updates on a big indoor open house on October 1. We need to start the Halloween season on the right note, don’t we?

We’re now coming up on two weeks of cloudy and wet weather after months and months of Mad Max: Fury Road cosplay (and never have I been more glad to change hair color to avoid the inevitable Immortan Joe cracks), and it looks as if we might get more water falling from the sky for the foreseeable future. That’s part of the reason why this weekend’s gallery open house is inside, at least for the moment. (Moving it to Sunday afternoon instead of Saturday is just a matter of both being contrary and getting a bit of a break.) After this weekend, the Porch Sales return, running on Saturdays from 10 am to 3 pm through September, and probably continuing into November or for as long as the weather holds. Considering how much the Sarracenia love the current weather, you may see some of the best pitcher plants in Triffid Ranch history in the next few weeks, but the ones going right now are nothing to sneeze at, either.

(Slightly related, the Reader’s Choice ballot for the Dallas Observer Best of Dallas Awards is still open for a week, and you can vote once per day per email address. Naturally, the real thrill of getting nominated for “Best Garden Center” is just in the nomination, but I’m also recommending write-in votes for Panoptikon for “Best Dance Club,” DFW Reptarium for “Best Pet Shop,” and the much-appreciated and totally underrated Toni Youngblood for “Best Realtor.” If you have to vote for anybody, vote for them.)

(Definitely related, the latest Triffid Ranch Newsletter is out, and feel free to read about Cadfael the crow and Ralph the red-tailed hawk, among other things. If you like it, please subscribe, but I’m not offended if you want to stick to small doses.)

And by the way, even if you can’t make it to the open house this weekend, keep an eye on the site this weekend. There’s a lot of news coming down the pipe over the next few weeks, and it’s going to be wild.

The rains finally returned to Dallas, the whole city is nicely soggy, and the National Weather Service predicts even more. In many ways, we’re repeating August 1987, and considering how much that year changed the rest of my life, I’m not complaining.

For those curious about Triffid Ranch events, it’s time for the big blowout. The Texas Triffid Ranch Seventh Anniversary Party and Carnivorous Plant Open House starts Saturday, August 27 at 3:00 pm and runs until 9:00 for your plant-viewing pleasure. If you can’t make it, September and October are going to be packed with events: some of which are still forming, but at least expect a major open house on Labor Day Weekend.

And to boost the signal, voting in the Dallas Morning News Best in DFW Awards ends at midnight on August 26, and the Triffid Ranch is nominated for Family Attraction in “Entertainment” and Best Adventure Within a Day’s Drive and Immersive Experience in “Things To Do.” Do what thou wilt. (The Triffid Ranch was also nominated for “Best Garden Center” in the Dallas Observer Best of Dallas Awards, but voting there continues until September 10. Feel free to vote early and often.)

Finally, today’s song selection has multiple points of reference, and not just because of the storms earlier this week that soaked everything. Let’s all wish Shirley Manson a very happy birthday today; if I’d been three hours more premature, she and I would be the same exact age. (For the first time in ten years, I feel that I can celebrate my birthday, so there’s that, too.)

Two more weeks of gallery updating before the big August 27 seventh anniversary open house, and everyone is welcome to come by to see everything in progress. The gallery is open on August 13 from noon until 5:00 pm: there’s still so much to do, but you should be thrilled with what’s already completed.

A lot of weirdness converged this week, so as you’re reading this, the Triffid Ranch will be set up at Aquashella Dallas at Dallas Market Hall for a solid weekend of carnivorous plant fun. After that, it’s a matter of putting together the second stage of the gallery renovation: when I said back last spring that you wouldn’t recognize the place, I meant it. Either this weekend or next, I’ll see you around.

No open house this weekend: with the promise of much-needed rain in the Dallas area (and I’m getting really sick and tired of being called “Muad’Dib,” especially since I’m more of an Edric), it’s time both for continued renovation of the gallery and getting things ready for Aquashella Dallas next weekend. With luck, this next week will not only be perfect for painting new enclosures, but for helping the Sarracenia recover from last week’s brutal heat. We’ll see.

The heat continues, but should you be looking for an air-conditioned hidey hole, the gallery is open on July 23 from noon until 5:00 pm. If you need to get out, this may be the last time for a while: the gallery will be closed on July 30 in order to prepare for the Aquashella Dallas show on August 6 and 7. The open houses start back up again on August 13, so this will be your last chance for a while. If you can’t make it on Saturday, stay cool, and we’ll see you in August.

July continues like passing a softball-sized kidney stone, and we’re still at least two to three weeks before the first Halloween decorations start showing up in stores. In the interim, the Triffid Ranch can fill in for that lapse, complete with an indoor open house on July 16. Let’s just make it to August, okay?

It’s the beginning of July, which means three things in Dallas: it’s painfully hot, it’s painfully sunny, and nobody will be able to shut up about it until mid-September. The next Triffid Ranch runs on July 9 from noon until 5:00 pm: the gallery has AC, cold drinks, and a whole new layout for your carnivorous plant-viewing pleasure.

This weekend, it’s back to the linen mines, with the last Porch Sale of June starting on Saturday and running from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm. (Considering the weather forecast for the weekend, breaking down at 1:00 is both prudent and sane, as the weekend is going to be brutally hot.) Aside from that, the gallery reboot is progressing nicely, and the plan is still for an official unveiling on July 2. Sleep? What’s that?

By the time you read this, the whole shebang will be relocated for the weekend in scenic Austin, Texas for the Oddities & Curiosities Expo at the Palmer Event Center. If you’re in the vicinity, head by to say hello: if not, I’ll be back next week. Either way, see you soon.

After that much-needed hiatus last weekend, the Triffid Ranch Porch Sale returns this weekend, starting at 8:00 am and ending at 1:00 pm to avoid the worst of the weekend heat. After that, it’s back to working on the gallery reboot, so if things go quiet, that’s why.

Here’s hoping everyone in the States is going to have a good post-holiday recuperation weekend. Unfortunately, that includes the Triffid Ranch (this weekend is vital for restocking and repotting, as well as getting work done on the impending Triffid Ranch 3.0 open house on July 2), so the Porch Sales return on June 11. Apologies in advance for everyone planning to come out this weekend, but the triggerplants are quite insistent.

In the meantime, particularly appropriate music for the weekend, considering the weekend and my paternal grandmother’s certainty that we were all on the line of succession for the throne. (You would NOT want to see me on the throne, even if the thought of watching me chase Boris Johnson down the street with a sword while screaming “Blood and souls for my lord Arioch!” has a certain bent appeal.

The Triffid Ranch Porch Sale fun in May continues this Saturday from 10 am to 3 pm, and the predicted cool temperatures should make things much nicer than last weekend, not that I’m complaining about last weekend. This weekend also marks 20 years since I gave up a professional writing career, such as it was, so we have multiple reasons to celebrate.

The Triffid Ranch show season may have started at the end of March, but now it’s amping up, with the Manchester United Flower Show going live on Saturday at 3:00 pm and running until 9:00. After that, well, let’s just say that the Texas Frightmare Weekend booth has some additional surprises next weekend.

It’s been extremely busy around here, including getting major news about Texas Frightmare Weekend this morning, but Saturday’s gallery open house is still on from noon to 5:00 pm, and the Sarracenia are obliging for making next weekend’s Manchester United Flower Show the best one yet. If March came in a lion and went out like a salt marsh harvest mouse, then what is May going to be like?

No events at the Triffid Ranch this weekend: this weekend is dedicated to restocking, rebuilding, and recuperating from last weekend’s show. However, things start back up on April 9, and things won’t let up until June.

The weather may shift back and forth, but at least the Triffid Ranch has a warm and dry space indoors. The March open houses continue this Saturday, running from noon until 5:00 pm, with free admission and masks being highly recommended, and an encore on March 19. Meanwhile, back to building new enclosures to fill the front space.

Another week, another weekend. The gallery will be closed this weekend because of an impending move, but keep an eye out for the open house on February 5. Until then, music.