Ready for the closeup

When the sago palm that Jerry gave us all those years ago came out of the greenhouse, almost every frond had some yellowed patches. It was the cold, I think.

There was a lovely little pillbox hat of fronds-to-be on the crown, so I trimmed it back to Square One (oh, I miss that restaurant; in fact, on a day like this, don't get me started on how much I miss Key West and its warmth). You can see the trimmed stubs spiking out at the base -- and yes, they are spiky.

But when the sago's fronds first emerge, as they did so beautifully, they're soft and pliant, wheels within ferny wheels of fresh velvet. So I got closer, and closer, and closer. . . .