30 May 2008, In the Arboretum of the Tarkham Historical Botanical Trust, Manchester, NH

Naydene walked up the road from the greenhouses with her stack of mail, sifting through the more part of it with a sigh. "More for the compost, I see." she said to no one in particular as about 5 more pieces went to the back of the pile in her hands. This was most bothersome to her, as if the apes did nothing but produce junk mail. Ah, but there was her copy of "Gardening Quarterly"....

She nearly tripped as her eyes caught something in the Umbra, but got her feet under her before she wound up head first in the trillium patch. As she stood upright again, she reminded herself that there are many dangers to be faced as a Theurge--Pulse of the Invisible and junk mail were but two of them.

The pale green paper of the envelope caught her eyes and she shifted the envelope up to the top. The darker green ink of the "Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory" blazoned in the corner made her smile a little. She popped the envelope open with a finger and read the announcement with a smile.

"The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory is pleased to announce the Summer gathering of experts in the field to Botanical Arts and Sciences from June 20-22, 2008, at our site on Belle Isle, Detroit Michigan. You are cordially invited to attend our gathering, which promises to bring new light and technique to the joint work of our Fellows. Our program for this session will feature the commentary in the field of horticulture and the proceedings include papers from:"

Naydene scanned down the speaker list, through an impressive list of people with Doctorates and serious credentials. Her finger reached the June 21 listings and slated at Noon, she found hers.

"Naydene Jorgensen, Associate Curator and Propagation Specialist with the Tarkham Historical Botanical Trust, will be presenting collected ongoing research into planting mediums and propgation techniques used to create one of the largest collections of orchids on the East Coast. Ms. Jorgensen recieved her Master's Degree from the University of New Hampshire in Botany and Agricultural Sciences in 2007 and has worked since her youth in many varied horticultural pursuits."

The Masters Degree was hard won among beings who see no value in such accomplishments--Claudia quipped at her constantly about Weaver books and Weaver poisons in the world. The young theurge had put all that aside and worked for 3 years to get all the classes, finally graduating with honors. It was partially a dream come true and partially for the good of the Trust and the beings whose Cause it fronted.

Naydene mumbled a 'wow' and then walked up the hill, gawking. Her attention was quite caught up in figuring out how to make the plans and itineraries to actually get there. Thrilled wasn't the word for it! Naydene practically skipped toward the cottage, heedless of the old root that stuck out of the path for years...

...sending her sprawling into the poison ivy.