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 Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) in Captain’s Quarters - Dancing On Toes, Losing The Rhythm
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

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

Packet of seeds in hand, Faye was still crouched, stunned into momentary silence. Her eyes glimmered. “I really like that idea. And best part is these will grow quickly, especially with some additional heat, so maybe I’ll get to see it all. It sounds lovely,” she said softly.

Sealing the stasis chamber, Faye moved over to the table and set the packet down. “Okay, seed starting. We’ll start them with our seed mix, which is a loose and fine soil mix that provides just enough nutrients to get the seedlings to the transplant stage, which is usually three to four weeks depending on their growth. I’ll grab the growing medium if you want to grab a tray. A twenty-four cell tray should do well. There are some just under the bench,” she said as she moved to the other side of the greenhouse where cabinets and shelves held supplies.

~Faye

Alex bent down and pulled the trays out, found two of the right ones, and brought them up. “Okay. Here you go. And let’s do two trays.” and he grinned.

“We need lots of flowers.” and he winked and then laughed.

Alex

Faye laughed. “Aye-aye, Captain,” she said, as she grabbed a rectangular basin and began to dump soil and other ingredients in so that they had the perfect environment for the seeds to grow strong roots. Digging both hands underneath, she lifted it up and repeated, mixing the stuff together before adding just the right amount of water to moisten everything without making it soggy. taking a clump in her hand, she squeezed it and no water dropped out and when she opened her hand, she showed Alex that it had conformed to her hand. “We add just enough water so the mix holds together but doesn’t drip water. That way when we put the seeds in, we don’t have to worry about dislodging them and the light soil bubbling up over the trays.”

Alex nodded as he watched the process.

“Okay, from here just take a scoop or your hands and fill the trays till they are overflowing, Pressing the soil in very lightly since it’s damp. You don’t have to be tidy, just get it in and we’ll level it off after.”

“Copy that, Captain to be.” he replied with a grin and began to fill and press the soil into the trays. As one was filled, he looked around and saw a piece of flat metal, picked it up, and ran it over the trays scraping off the excess soil back into the basin.

“How are you feeling now? Is all this helping?” aye asked curiously. Just because it was her sanctuary, didn’t mean it would be the same for others.

~Faye

“I am. I don’t know if its the work or the company… or both… but I do feel better.” He stopped just long enough to look at Faye and say “Thanks.” and he went back to work.

Alex

She grinned at him. “You’re welcome. I’d be a poor friend if it was always about my nonsense… interesting and crazy nonsense that it sometimes can be. But though I’m still new in this ‘being a true friend’ thing, I like to think that I’m greatly improving on a regular basis.”

Moving over to wash her hands off, Faye tried them on a towel and moved back to the workbench. Opening the packs of seeds, she carefully tipped some out onto her hand. they were narrow dark seeds bout one centimetre long with a pale wispy piece attach that looked somewhat fluffy and somewhat straw-like. “Alright, so we take our pinkies and make a tiny divot about three millimetres deep in each cell, pop a seed in each and gently nudge some soil over top and press down lightly so there is guaranteed contact wth the soil. Then we’ll water them in so we don’t have to worry about air bubbles,” she said as she handed him a pack of seeds and began to make the indentations.

~Faye