Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Tragedy on Ainsworth...

That was the title of an email I received from a friend over the weekend, "Tragedy on Ainsworth." Of course with the state of the world right now I had no idea exactly what he was referring to, it could have been any number of things. As it was the email arrived after the first night of local protests—one that started in a park on Ainsworth—it wasn't directly tied to what my friend was alerting me too however. As with most things I write about here the email was plant related, not people related.

I've been struggling with what (if anything, this is only a garden blog after all) to write about the horrific police brutality that killed another black human being, and the resulting protests and violence. There are so many layers I am trying to work through and understand. I guess this is what I will share for now:

First...if you are an American citizen please vote. Come November, we need to get rid of the ignorant, hate and violence spurring fool that currently occupies the highest office in the land.

Second... read this: How Long…A Grandmother’s Nightmare written by Teresa Speight, a fellow garden blogger who I first met during the WA DC area Fling in 2017 (her blog is Cottage in the Court).

Third... plan to listen to Jennifer Jewell interview Jamaica Kincaid as a guest on her Cultivating Place podcast on July 2nd. The photo you see below is Jamaica Kincaid's biography photo, taken in 2019 for “The Earth in Her Hands.” The words on her shirt a testament to the brutal death of Eric Garner in 2014.




Okay, now I will resume talk of the plant tragedy on Ainsworth...

The incident was a cholla tragedy, captured in this photo...



Here's what this same plant looked like last June...

And now...

Then, again...
The base had gotten quite woody.

Prior to it's "reduction" this had to have been one of the most impressive cholla in Portland.

The tips of the piece that remains has new growth, so the plant is still happy.

I got in touch with another friend whom I thought might know the back story. It turns out someone pushed it over—plant vandalism—and in order to get it back up, straight, the owner had to heavily trim it—very heavily trim it. Can you imagine how much that thing must have weighed?

I was glad to see the opuntia were still looking magical.

Even starting to bloom.

Those spikes are so good...

Please love your fellow humans like you love your plants.

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Weather Diary, June 1: Hi 79, Low 49/ Precip 0

All material © 2009-2020 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

22 comments:

  1. nnnnnoooooooooooooooooooo

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  2. Vote I will.
    Now I know why we are friends.
    We are all human beings, and we all have the same basic needs. We are very lucky to be able to make choices about how we want to live our lives, no matter our income. Tiny decisions can turn into life changers.
    The most important choice we have ahead of us is to vote in November. It is critical to our world.
    That cholla is amazing. It's got to be the rain! I'm thinking about getting another one for our front beds... and maybe adding a drip?

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    1. "We are very lucky to be able to make choices about how we want to live our lives"... something I've largely taken for granted.

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  3. By the way... is that a duplex? There are a motherlode of windows on the front of that house, two doors plus 3 dishes! Just curious.

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    1. I think there are actually 4 units in the building.

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  4. If the home owner had decided to cut down the cholla, I would have been sad, maybe a bit angry, but ultimately it would have been their right.

    Vandalism is another thing altogether. It's senseless violence. Yes, it's "just" violence against a plant, but in light of what's going on at the moment, it's a metaphor of the senseless violence against human beings.

    I'm not in a good place at the moment and don't really know what to say. You found the right words, and you speak for me as well.

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    1. Can you imagine coming out of your house and seeing that beauty knocked over? Poor guy. Strange times Gerhard.

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  5. Oh Loree. I spent most of this lockdown day watching everything from Stephen Colbert to Rush Limbaugh to African- American comedians lost for words to Donald Trump managing to correctly identify a Bible. I even removed some brambles. I don't know know what to say except that I hope things turn out the right way in November so that your country becomes a little less divided, albeit with the caveat that we have a Trump fan PM here in the UK who hid in a fridge on election day to avoid journalists and still won a landslide victory. Once again, thank goodness for plants. David.

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    1. Thank goodness for plants, and gardens. I both can't wait until November and I am horribly afraid.

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  6. Can't imagine anyone pushing that over. It's sooo well armed. Your friends north of the border are eagerly awaiting your November election.

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    1. Where there is a will, there is a way. I doubt it was a spur of the moment thing, probably premeditated.

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  7. Thanks for your message, Loree, and for sharing the links to Teresa's post and Jennifer's podcast. I believe there are good people in the world who want to see meaningful change in our country and I hope and pray that we can overcome the forces that fight such change this time. Despite the bubble within which I've spent most of my life, I've seen how prejudice and misguided senses of entitlement play out in the corporate world and even within my own extended family. It's sickening and it has to end.

    As to the Cholla, I hope the vandal is nursing some serious wounds somewhere.

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    1. I keep trying to focus on the good people...I know they're there. I wish they were louder.

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  8. I was glad to read that this wasn't just a random pruning job-I was about to suggest a post to Crimes Against Horticulture but it would be unfair to to the owner who was probably just trying to save the plant. I;m saving up Jennifers podcasts for a trip out to the coast at the end of the month-a binge listen on the way to Mendocino. Voting will be my most important task of 2020.The second is having about 100 square feet of concrete removed to make more garden. Where would we be in this crappy-ass year without our gardens ?

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    1. "Crappy-ass year".... well said. Bye bye concrete!

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  9. Anyone fool enough to take on a cholla that size will be easy to spot in the emergency room. I do hope the owner managed to take lots of cuttings. Your words about the current situation are so accurate. So much pain, but also a new focus and clarity of what needs to be done.

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    1. Word is there are cuttings, I might even get one...so perhaps the plant will live on around town.

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  10. Oh, wow! Someone pushed it over??? WTF... The owner of that spectacular plant must have been mortified. Kudos to them for giving it another chance. Time will tell... As for the first part, amen to that. Vote, vote, vote - up and down the ticket. Heard a brilliant quote yesterday; "Hopelessness is the opposite of Justice". We cannot, cannot, cannot give in and lose hope. Thanks for all the links - I will definitely check them out.

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    1. WTF indeed...on so many levels! I have no doubt the plant will kick it back into action, there's already new growth.

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  11. Someone pushed it over? Like with a car/truck? Poor plant, it will survive, but what a blow. I'll be curious to see what it looks like next year (hint-hint).
    I was thinking that they ought to set up tables for voter registration at protest locations. Turn the violence into some positive action. Burning and looting does nothing but exacerbate a bad situation. I do understand the outrage and feel it is justified, but anger doesn't solve the issue. MLK ushered in change non-violently, and his approach is one we can still honor.

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    1. There had to be machinery involved, unless someone got really mad and pushed someone else into it? I will definitely be doing regular checks to see how it's doing.

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