Tag Archives: Have a Safe Weekend

Have One Last Safe Weekend

If you hadn’t heard about the greenhouse, there’s one impromptu sale this Friday and Saturday (March 3 and 4, 2023), from noon until 8:00 pm or whenever the last items leave, to move the last remaining inventory: everything is dedicated to getting the last of the stuff out of the gallery and handing over the keys on Monday. Take care of yourselves, and thank you for 12 years of safe weekends and music sharing. (And many, many thanks to Jack Bogdanski for the whole “Have a Great Weekend” concept, which I stole without remorse and with full credit.) Now back to the library: there’s so much reading to catch up on.

Have a Safe Weekend

It’s almost done: the last-ever Triffid Ranch Liquidation Sale and Wake runs this weekend from noon until 6:00 pm on both Saturday and Sunday. If you’ve never been out, or if you haven’t been out in years, you’re cordially invited to come out; if you’re looking for Lundia shelving, tables, chairs, and workbenches, then do we have a deal for you. After that, all that’s left is the sweeping out, because the keys get handed over on February 28. See you on the flipside.

Have a Safe Weekend

For those who thought that last weekend’s liquidation sale was big, you’ll want to come out this weekend to see everything that came from the propagation area. If you haven’t been to the gallery in a while, this is the absolute last chance to see the gallery renovation before everything has to come down next week. If you’ve never been out here, you’ll have exactly one more weekend before the gallery closes forever to move what’s left. February 18 and 19, noon until 6:00 pm each day. (And if you’re interested in one of the larger enclosures, just make sure you bring a vehicle with at least one meter clearance in its cargo area. I learned this from hard experience.)

Have a Safe Weekend

We’re getting down to titanium tacks: this weekend is the Texas Triffid Ranch Carnivorous Plant Liquidation Sale and Superb Owl Party, running both Saturday and Sunday, February 11 and 12, from noon until 6:00, pulling out lots and lots of plants from the reserves and some additional surprises. As always, the gallery is open by appointment if you can’t make it out this weekend for a particular enclosure, and the liquidation sale continues on February 18 to move dormant temperate carnivores such as North American pitcher plants and Venus flytraps. (The only reason why these aren’t available this weekend is available space, so please come out to clear out what’s already here.) Flytraps and Sarracenia are also available via appointment, sold ready to go into outdoor container gardens before they start blooming, so feel free to ask about availability. See you this weekend.

Have a Safe Weekend

We’re in the final stretch now: the gallery will be closing by the end of the month. Due to scheduled appointments this weekend, the gallery will not be open this weekend (but if you have an eye on a particular enclosure, don’t hesitate to schedule an appointment before it’s gone), but the liquidation sales start on February 11 at noon. One way or another, everything has to be gone and out by February 28, so if you haven’t been able to get out to the gallery before now, get ready for February 11. Details will follow.

Have a Safe Weekend

Well, here we go: the absolutely last Triffid Ranch open house starts at noon on Saturday and runs until 6:00. After this, everything comes down for liquidation, so if you haven’t seen the recent gallery renovations, this is your last chance. Selah.

Have a Safe Weekend

We’re down to the two last open houses at the current Triffid Ranch location, with the next one on January 21 from noon until 6:00 pm. If you’ve been wanting to come out for years but couldn’t quite work it out, now’s the time to do so, because after the January 28 open house, everything comes down and the gallery shuts down forever. And so it goes.

Have a Safe Weekend

This weekend is another two-night event: it starts Friday with a guest spot at Dallas’s famed goth club Panoptikon, now at Sons of Hermann Hall in Deep Ellum, starting at 7:00 and ending pretty much whenever they kick me out, and continues at the gallery for the first open house of the new year. Hit one, hit both, or wait until next week: it’s completely up to you.

Have a Safe 2023

For the first time in months, there’s no Triffid Ranch event on the weekend schedule: this weekend is dedicated to post-holiday cleanup and reorganization, finishing new enclosures, and taking care of new year obligations. After this slight interlude, though, expect open houses on January 14, 21, and 28, with some serious news for everyone on the 28th. (The plants also have their earliest tour ever on January 13, when we all show off at the new location for Panoptikon at Sons of Hermann Hall in Dallas’s Deep Ellum district.) Until then, the broom and dustpan are going to get a workout above and beyond the usual.

Have a Safe New Year’s Weekend

And that does it for 2022. Everyone be safe and warm (not that the latter is a problem in Dallas this weekend),and if you feel so inclined for New Year’s Eve festivities in Dallas that don’t involve terrible driving and competitive projectile vomiting, the gallery opens on December 31 for one last open house from noon until 6:00 pm. And if we need to have a 2023 reminiscent of science fiction, could we shoot this time more for Babylon 5 and less toward Mad Max: Fury Road?

Have a Safe Weekend

Well, it’s about done for the season: the last Nightmare Weekend Before Christmas open house of 2022 starts on Saturday at noon and runs until 5:00, but that may stretch based on the number of last-minute visitors. After that, one more event on New Year’s Eve, along with a major announcement about the gallery, and then it’s all about 2023.

Have a Safe Weekend

The Nightmare Weekends Before Christmas open houses at the gallery continue for this weekend, with the gallery open on Saturday from noon until 5:00 pm. In the interim, for those planning trips to see family and friends this next week, heed the exceedingly valuable and pertinent annual advice from Canada’s answer to Doctor Who.

Have a Safe Weekend

Two weeks to the big weekend, and the second Nightmare Weekend Before Christmas gallery open house starts Saturday, December 10 at noon and runs until 5:00 pm. (Because people keep asking, it’s not necessary to sign up for Eventbrite or order tickets to attend. The Eventbrite listing is because many Dallas news venues compile their “Best Things To Do This Weekend” lists through Eventbrite, and it’s all about reaching new folks. Getting an idea of how many visitors to expect is a side benefit. However, don’t let that stop you from giving the gallery a view.) After this weekend, the weather is supposed to shift to Dallas typical, so plan accordingly.

Have a Safe Weekend

For those in the Dallas area, the Nightmare Weekends Before Christmas open house series starts Saturday, December 3 and continues for every Saturday in December, including December 24. As always, admission is free, and measure your vehicles to make sure you can fit one of the larger enclosures inside. (I learned that the hard way last year.) For those outside the Dallas area, go bug a friend in Dallas for photos: thanks to our regular flirtings with freezing temperatures, we’ve got one of the most spectacular displays of autumn foliage I’ve seen in nearly two decades. Either way, it’s definitely Jack Skellington season out here this weekend.

Have a Safe Weekend

By the time you read this, the Triffid Ranch will be on the road and set up at the Blood Over Texas Horror for the Holidays show in scenic downtown Austin. Naturally, this means that the gallery won’t be open for Small Business Saturday, but that’s what the Nightmare Weekends Before Christmas are for. In the meantime, it’s time to get going.

Have a Safe Weekend

Last weekend before things get weird around the Triffid Ranch: the gallery opens on November 19 from noon until 5:00 pm, complete with debuts of new enclosures, with the usual “admission is free, masks are appreciated” disclaimer. This will be the last gallery open house until December 3 with the start of the Nightmare Weekends Before Christmas open houses: next weekend, everything gets packed up and hauled down to Austin for the Blood Over Texas Horror for the Holidays show at the Palmer Events Center in downtown. For various reasons, this will run a lot more smoothly than last year’s, mostly due to the horrendous highway construction in Waco being over. (For those who never had to make the road trip from Dallas to Austin, Waco was both the halfway mark and direct pathway to at least three discrete levels of Hell, with highway construction and expansion narrowing the highway to one lane for over a decade, and not being caught up in a 90-minute traffic jam in Waco is a relief and a blessing.) If you’re in Austin or the vicinity next weekend, I’ll see you there.

For those obligated to stay in Dallas, the Triffid Ranch opens again in December, and just in time for a special announcement from the Best of DFW Awards. That announcement comes out on Sunday, November 20, so feel free to check back. Just get prepped for December 3, okay?

Oh, and before I forget, next Tuesday is The 59th, so be prepared. And no, I don’t have any sonic screwdrivers to spare.

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.

Have a Safe Weekend

The rest of 2022 is shaping up to be the busiest the Triffid Ranch has ever seen, and it all starts this weekend. Because they need a good winter dormancy, this weekend is the absolute last weekend where Venus flytraps or North American pitcher plants will be available until next April, so it’s time for two shows: the Goth Flea Market and Cocktails at Panoptikon in downtown Dallas on Saturday from noon until 4:00 pm, and then the absolutely last Triffid Ranch Porch Sale on Sunday from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. A lot more events are in the planning stages, including the now-traditional Nightmare Weekends Before Christmas open houses in December, but this is vital for a lot of reasons. If you need more information, check it out.

Have a Safe Weekend

By the time you read this, the first of three days showing carnivorous plants at the Dallas Arboretum will be complete, with two more to go. If you’re already going to the Arboretum to see the Autumn at the Arboretum exhibition, the Triffid Ranch tables should be up near the front entrance. If you can’t make it, check back with Good Morning Texas on Monday morning: my grandmother’s 99th birthday would have been Monday, so it’s particularly appropriate.

Have a Safe Weekend

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.

Have a Safe Weekend

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.

Have a Safe Weekend

For those outside of Dallas, this weekend is Texas-OU Weekend, and all this really means to anybody outside is that downtown is going to be full of cosplayers living out the best documentary about the pregame festivities ever made. For those with an aversion to streets turned into rivers of margarita vomit and displays of boorish insecurity both on and off the football field, head north and gaze upon peace at the Porch Sale on Saturday running from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. I promise: no pennants, no foam fingers, and absolutely no demonstrations of either alcohol poisoning or levamisole toxicity. To quote a childhood hero, “No flowers in this town. Only carnivorous plants.”

Have a Safe Weekend

For those unfamiliar with Dallas, the State Fair of Texas starts today in Fair Park, which means that traffic anywhere near downtown is going to be nearly impossible to traverse. We’re also coming up on the tenth anniversary of our very own Wicker Man demo, so there’s that. If you’re wanting to get outside but don’t want to deal with the impending screams of “I AM THE GOD OF HELLFIRE, AND I BRING YOU FIRE!”, the Triffid Ranch opens this Saturday from noon until 5:00 pm, and without admission or parking fees, too.

Have a Safe Weekend

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?

Have a Safe Weekend

Have pity, because this weekend is going to be busy. Things start up on Saturday, when the September Porch Sales continue, running from 10 am to 3 pm. After that’s done, it’s time to catch a disco nap and get everything packed for the Vampire Court of Dallas Angel Stakes casino night fundraiser in Haltom City on Sunday night. For the latter, expect a lot of white pitcher plants: I have no idea why Sarracenia leucophylla isn’t more popular among the goth community, and it’s time to rectify this.

(And for those in the Dallas art community, a little extra: the Cedars Union is hosting a lecture on writing effective press releases on Tuesday, September 20, and I’ll be out there to see what more I need to learn, which is probably quite a lot. For those who can’t be there in person, it’s streaming, so feel free to jump in.)

Have a Safe Weekend

Now that the last US bank holiday for a while is over, it’s time to get back to a regular schedule on Triffid Ranch events, and weather permitting, they’re going to be outdoors for a while. Yes, it’s time to restart the Porch Sales, starting at 10 am and ending at 3:00 every Saturday this month. If you haven’t voted for “Best Garden Center” in the Dallas Observer Best of Dallas Awards yet, now is a perfect time to come out and see why the Triffid Ranch is under consideration, or at least to come out and enjoy a Texas neo-autumn that promises to keep going until the end of the year. (Moving outdoors has two advantages. The first is just getting outside, so long as we don’t get a repeat of last Sunday’s explosive weather. The second is getting the gallery ready for a very important event on the afternoon of September 22, so the place may look as if Hunter S. Thompson was camping in the back while that’s happening. This way, everyone gets their carnivorous plant Recommended Daily Allowance while allowing paint to dry, I appreciate your understanding.)

Have a Safe Weekend

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.

Have a Safe Weekend

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.)

Have a Safe Weekend

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.

Have a Safe Weekend

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.

Have a Safe Weekend

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.

Have a Safe Weekend

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.

Have a Safe Weekend

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?

Have a Safe Weekend

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.

Have a Safe Canada Day Weekend

While it may not feel like it in Texas, today is Canada Day, and this entails the now-obligatory trip to Dallas’s best Canadian restaurant with the flower emblem of Newfoundland and Labrador. After that, it’s back to getting the gallery ready for Saturday’s reboot, and possible discussions on inspiration for an upcoming enclosure. Until then, “So remember: if the Sontarans don’t find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.”

Have a Safe Weekend

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?

Have a Safe Weekend

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.

Have a Safe Weekend

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.

Have a Safe Weekend

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.

Have a Safe Weekend

One more Porch Sale to go for the month of May: Saturday, May 28, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, and I know a fair number of you have a three-day weekend that’s been burning a hole in your pocket. For everyone else, the planned official reopening of the gallery is July 2, so get ready. I have a lot of new enclosures to make in the next month. In the meantime, a little bit of advice from a much-missed friend, who would have turned 88 today.

Have a Safe Weekend

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.

Have a Safe Weekend

Well, that was a good recovery weekend, but now it’s time to get back to work. The first of the 2022 Porch Sales starts on Saturday from 10 am to 3 pm (all the better to avoid the afternoon heat), and that’s just the stuff you’ll be able to see. Just wait until the gallery renovation is done.

Have a Safe Weekend

We’re past Texas Frightmare Weekend, and now it’s time to focus on the new gallery renovation. In the meantime, expect a slew of Porch Sales every Saturday (and the occasional Sunday) through the rest of spring and all through summer, with lots of guest vendors to make things interesting. Keep an eye open for updates as to when the next indoor open house runs, because it’s going to be brag-worthy.

Have a Safe Weekend

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.

Have a Safe 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?

Have a Safe Weekend

The gallery open houses start up again this Saturday from noon until 5:00 pm, but that’s not the only reason to come out. The gallery renovation starts this month, we’re rapidly coming up on Venus flytrap and North American pitcher plant season, and you’ll want to hear about the plans for the return of the Porch Sales in May. And does anyone want to take a big wooden table home with them along with plants?

Have a Safe Weekend

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.

Have a Safe Weekend

And so the Triffid Ranch show season starts this weekend with the Dallas Oddities & Curiosities Expo this weekend: after this, it’s back to the gallery for a month. This weekend is going to be a weird one…

Have a Safe Weekend

Another Saturday in March, another open house, open from noon until 5. (Incidentally, for those who have only come out to the gallery in winter, the next few months should be very instructive. This week is the traditional week for switching the gallery’s light timers to a 12-hour schedule from the 8-hour photoperiod that runs through winter, so if various plants are going to bloom, the next month will see them doing so. With everyone else, the additional four hours of light should stimulate a whole new run of fresh growth, so that leads to all sorts of new possibilities. Either way, the plants you may have seen in December are going to be drastically different by the beginning of April.)

Have a Safe Weekend

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.