DavidRayDavenport1977

GTI Black Afghan is a potent Indica strain, high in THC, with a vintage lineage, and exotic taste and smell. Nature’s Grace and Wellness Skywalker is another Indica, a hybrid dominated by Afghani. Spreading a dab of batter on a bud of Black Afghan brings out the cerebral hints of the Thai inherent in both, while the Afghani washes over your body in waves. 

My wife loves me so I get weed for my birthday 

GTI Black Afghan is likely my favorite strain of flower. I love the Indica buzz, but also the taste and smell. Rush, the band pointed it out to me way back in the seventies, in the song Passage To Bangkok. “The fragrance of Afghanistan, rewards a long day’s toil.” 

It’s the one strain I couldn’t imagine not having on hand. Actually most any Afghan will keep happy. But GTI Black Afghan makes me the happiest.

My birthday is next week and the wife asked what I wanted. “Hash?”

“Actually no,” I replied. “That’s not been around for a while.” The last time I looked the dispensary didn’t have anything I needed, and I had a decent stash left of the regulars. “But I’ll take a look.”

Benjamin Franklin never said that beer was proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. He actually said that about wine. But to bastardize the old fart, weed for your birthday is proof your wife loves you and wants you to be happy. 

I went to the website and surprisingly, GTI Black Afghan was in stock. I was getting low on concentrate, and knew Azrael was on sale. I looked. It was sold out. 

“Fuck.”

Then I saw Skywalker was in stock. Skywalker is another Afghan, another Indica. It’s a hybrid, but like Black Afghan, with only classic strains. 

We had planned a romantic interlude for that afternoon. We headed for ThriveIL in Harrisburg instead. We had the night after all. 

GTI Black Afghan’s relaxing buzz makes for mellow, but psychedelic ride to the dispensary

I took a few bong hits before we left of Black Afghan which I still had on hand. It knocked me into a daze which I happily wandered in all afternoon. As I was pretty much locked to the car seat with a body buzz, I chatted away constantly. I was amazed by almost everything I saw along the country highways to Harrisburg. And back as well. 

I’m usually a nervous passenger. But I forgot to worry the whole trip. That I chalk up to the relaxing properties of GTI Black Afghan.

I had to navigate Walmart, and that’s where the munchies hit. For the past four weeks, I’ve done amazing on my diet. I’d suddenly found a resolve I’d been lacking.

I came out there with a box of fried chicken and potato wedges, and a bag of chocolate covered almonds.  After putting that and the groceries away, I napped hard. 

Building the perfect buzz that goes from relaxation to horny … and back again

Before supper we sat on the couch and I filled the pipe with a small bud from the new batch of GTI Black Afghan. My birthday present. She thought about getting me a robe, as my elbow pops out of this one. But I persuaded her that this would make me happier. And she loves to see me happy. Which can be unusual in relationships it seems. I’m lucky that way. 

It seems that usually there’s one or two big buds and a few smaller ones in an eighth of GTI Black Afghan. Sometimes you get one of those you hate to break up, that you want to name because you just want to keep it forever. 

It might have been the tastiest bowl I’ve ever smoked. It was full bodied Afghan, rich and earthy, with that bite of Thai floating on the top. And it hit hard. 

The lineage of this plant starts with Afghan #1 – about as pure as you can get. It’s crossed with Black Domina, itself created from four classic strains – Afghani, Hash Plant- also an Afghani, Ortega which is a Thai and Northern Lights. Northern Light is a cross between Afghan and Thai. 

Thai is another one of the strains I keep on hand. Also thanks to Rush, and the same song as a matter of fact. 

As romance was on for the evening, I thought it a good idea to try to relax. So I dabbed a bit of Nature Grace And Wellness’ Skywalker over it. Skywalker is a cross between Mazar Sharif, another legendary Afghani strain, and Blueberry, a cross of Thai and Purple Thai. 

In short, it’s a heavy Indica, mainly Afghani, with enough Thai to make it mind blowing, as well as sedating. Both the flower and the badder were extremely complimentary. That accents the tastes and effects of the buzz, rather than muddying it up. 

It might have been the tastiest bowl I’ve ever smoked. It was full bodied Afghan, rich and earthy, with that bite of Thai floating on the top. And it hit hard. 

It was a while before I paused in the rambling train of thought that poured out of my mouth, and the wife reminded me I was supposed to be taking a shower. I remembered. Romance. 

GTI Black Afghan and Nature’s Grace and Wellness’ Skywalker makes shower time introspection time

So I’m in the bathroom, the water is running and I unbuckle my belt and in the mirror I’m seeing myself as on a tv screen. My brain flashes back to something I’d long forgotten. 

I was watching Hawaii Five-O on television, I must have been about six. The villain on the show was a terrible man. One of the most feared McGarrett, Danno and Chin Ho had ever faced. He had a girl kidnapped and tied to the bed in his hotel room. On the screen, it showed him unbuckling his belt, and the top button of his pants. 

To a six year old, who barely had a concept of sex, this left an unfortunate impression on the brain. I knew this was about sex, and so reasoned that sex was punishment for a women. They didn’t like it. They feared it. And feared masculine aggression, so I decided not to develop it a macho facade. 

It took McMillan and Wife and Susan Saint James a few years later to convince me that Hawaii Five-O might have had it wrong, and that women might not find sex so objectionable. I stood in the bathroom, pondering if Rock Hudson had come out of the closet before that show, I might have turned out gay? Such was the sexual indoctrination my parents subjected me to in their TV choices. 

Or I could have become a detective. 

By puberty, the anti-male way of thinking was firmly ingrained. I never got into working on cars, contact sports, hunting or fishing, or any of those manly pursuits. 

And I was never the aggressive party when it came to encounters with the opposite sex. I never found my inner Tony The Tiger. I never have been able to equate being relaxed with having sex. Maybe, I reasoned, stepping into the hot water of the shower stall, I’m just always afraid I’ll fart. 

In the rain forest of the shower, the senses come alive

“Fuck I”m high,” I thought as I washed my hair. The train of thought was a locomotive. I knew it was likely all bullshit, but seemed illuminating at the time. 

We’ve got one of those wide shower heads, so you don’t have to aim it. The flow isn’t overly strong, so it’s like standing outside in the rain. 

When it comes to soap, I have a preference. Pine Tar from Dr. Squatch. It smells like an old growth forest, which seems to me the perfect place to take a shower. Except for snakes or bugs, and so in some ways if you can close your eyes and find it smells like the woods, it’s better than the real thing. 

Besides, rain is never this warm. 

I knew the bathroom would be cold, and when I stepped out of the shower I’d be faced with the chill. This incredible physical sensation I was experiencing would stop abruptly. I decided to hang out in there a little longer. 

So Black Afghan and Skywalker bring the senses to life. Which without going into undo detail, made the rest of the night very nice as well. 

This is your brain on drugs: From Hawaii FiveO to Marcus Welby in one shower

It was about then that I realized this weed review was writing itself, and I cackled. The wife wondered what I was laughing at. I couldn’t explain it from the shower, because the movie was still going on. 

The best way to review GTI Black Afghan and Nature Grace and Wellness’ Skywalker was to just spill out the thoughts as they happened. This is your brain on drugs. 

I lifted my foot to wash the bottom and saw white blotches on the ball and some of the toes. I realized they were where I had some really nasty blisters a few times, a few years before. Blisters upon blisters. I began to wonder why they were lighter. Could that be part of the cause of the neuropathy I’ve developed over the years?

It was fascinating. I’d stand a moment, lift one foot and for two or three seconds, the spots shone bright. Then faded away. Could it be that the flesh under the skin was scar tissue, and blood didn’t flow there as easily?

I became fixated. I’d love to show that to my podiatrist, but the only way I could see to do it was to have him in the shower with me. As Rock Hudson was straight in McMillan and Wife, the thought made me uncomfortable and I switched off the water. 

Coming down from GTI Black Afghani and Nature’s Grace and Wellness’ Skywalker 

I didn’t touch the pipe the rest of the night. It’s after midnight now, and my mind is still racing. And my body is about as relaxed as it could possibly be. 

In the interest of full disclosure, I had two Dark Stella Artois and a shot of Jagermeister. Which likely has helped with the full body buzz I’ve had for most of the night. 

As for mind to body buzz, I’ll say this. After romance with the wife and putting her to bed, I still managed to write and edit this review. The brain is still chugging away. Typically the first step is taking a photo of what I’ve brought home, and I write the reviews later. Sometimes months later. 

Tonight the body buzz is strong enough that I don’t want to have to open the drawers to see which one I’ve stashed my camera in. But my fingers are willing to type, as long as I don’t have to move the rest of my body. It’s a pretty good balance of mind and body buzz.

It’s what it did to the mind that amazes me. At the moment, it feels like it used to feel coming down off acid, when your mind was still going with what felt like essential knowledge about yourself, bubbling up from the unconscious. The blinders fall from your eyes and you can see clearly. 

I expect to look over and see Buddha staring back at me. Not the cat.

That’s the buzz talking. As anyone who wrote down those rambling thoughts at times like that found out the next morning when they read them back. Or we mercifully forget. 

When a weed can do that, it’s worth keeping on hand. I can’t image what profession would let you spend your days and nights stoned like this. But the mountains of Afghan are a nice escape for a sleepy Saturday. 

The Particulars …

GTI Black Afghan: Indica dominant hybrid of Afghan #1 and Black Domina. In short, a heavy Afghani with a dash of Thai. THC 23.9%

Nature’s Grace and Wellness Badder Skywalker: Another Indica dominant hybrid of Blueberry and Mazar I Sharif. A bit more balanced between Afghani and Thai. THC 73.3%

Bedford Grow’s Azrael is an Indica dominant hybrid that’s relaxing, but stimulates the brain as well. It might not help with cognitive processes, or their efficiencies. Pretty high in THC, it lends itself to deeper thought, as long as you don’t take those thoughts too seriously. Just like the film where my guess is, Azrael got its name.

There’s a film called Dogma, starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Often their films make me hurl, but they’re balanced by Jay and Silent Bob, the most obnoxious weed fueled comedy duo since Cheech and Chong. 

Dogma incorporated Catholic theology, demonology and a spiritual quest, with dick and weed jokes. The main nemesis of the film is of course, Azrael. 

When I saw Bedford Grow’s Azrael on the menu at ThriveIL in Harrisburg, I figured the name was because of his more well known occupation … the angel of death. Or demon, depending on where you fall in the Islamic, or Judeo Christian belief system. 

Being the dutiful researcher I am, I checked out the strains which turned out to be Bedford OG and … Dawgma. Someone at Bedford Grow must have a sick sense of humor. I ordered it on the spot. 

Bedford OG is a 80-30 Indica/Sativa hybrid, close to the Kush OG, and a very relaxing buzz. Calm is the word that comes to mind, with a burst of euphoria at the beginning. 

Dawgma is a 50-50 hybrid, also known for its euphoric effects. It also sharpens the the mind in a stoned sort of way, and the sativa gives it a lift. 

That lift is suppressed in Azrael, but it doesn’t strike you dead as the name might imply. Though the couch felt really good. The calmness of the OG and the spark to the imagination from the Dawgma made for a sweet afternoon, just sitting around the house. 

Well that’s what I remember, though in reality we spent part of the afternoon bailing water out of the basement from the rain outside that was seeping up through the floor. It was surprisingly zen-like, sucking the streams of water from between the bricks with the Shop Vac. 

That’s the key to Azrael. Even when doing the mundane, your mind is able to find something of interest to focus on. 

After a nap and supper, I loaded a new glass pipe with it. I found it at Thrive, and it had been buzzing me each time I saw it. It has a bee theme to it, and I dig the bees. It’s handblown from Empire Glassworks, a relatively high end brand. I don’t typically spend that much for paraphernalia, but Christmas was coming up. 

Well that’s what I remember, though in reality we spent part of the afternoon bailing water out of the basement from the rain outside that was seeping up through the floor. It was surprisingly zen-like, sucking the streams of water from between the bricks with the Shop Vac.

I made the point that if we didn’t get a real tree this year, I could afford the pipe, she encouraged me. Last year’s tree, now denuded and dry is still in the yard. She’s not a fan of Christmas anyway. But she loves to see me happy, and I love her for that. 

So I lit up and she popped in Harry Potter. The Order of the Phoenix I think. I seem to remember seeing these with my kid when they came out. I’m old school on fantasy books and films. It’s a bit too modern for my tastes, but perfectly enchanting to watch stoned, providing you don’t spend the film picking it apart. 

I fall into that camp usually. But the Azrael kept me kicked back on the couch, and content enough to just watch and fall into the story, not to look for the holes. I still did … but not enough to kill the pleasure for me. 

The pipe cooled the smoke a bit, more so than the hash oil pipe I’ve used for decades. It’s sturdy. You don’t get the sense you could drop it on a brick floor, but it would stand a good chance of surviving carpet. 

Afterwards I tried a couple of bong hits. It was smoother this way, easier to take more smoke without coughing. Much. It took the second to get the dose right, and even that provided a head rush. 

I literally melted and slid down to the edge of the chair, the back of my head resting against the top, like a slouching teenager. My eyes were closed and I remembered how a review said the effects were psychedelic. I opened my eyes to flashes of purple and red and yeah, even though it was only a flashing Halloween light still up in the lounge, it was fucking psychedelic. 

Azrael from Bedford Grow is a demon of a buzz. 

Bedford Grow’s Azrael
Hybrid of Bedford OG and Dawgma
THC: 26.38%