By the gate that was chained shut because of the septic tank drainage field was a giant agave. Beside it was a smaller replica that was probably a pup from years back. As i loaded the trash can into the car one day i noticed there was a third, even smaller, agave. The pup had a pup. How interesting. I wondered if it had sprouted from the roots of the smaller one or if the giant agave was responsible for its presence there beside the fence. Anyhow, there were now 3 agaves on the property. I wondered how far away the old one was from putting up a stalk. It would mean the death of the plant but it was always an impressive sight to see. I had read that some agave produced pups around the time they were going to make a stalk. If this was true the mid-sized plant would have been spawned by a now deceased plant and the new pup was probably an indicator that the giant agave was going to flower. If so, it would be exciting to watch. I was seeing tiny deer tracks in the mud…evidence of the existence of a fawn, and now the agave even had a pup. It felt as if i was being reminded that winter wouldn’t last forever. It would be spring again soon enough and i would begin year 2 on the homestead.