I stood up for my principles today, at least on a small scale. Yesterday, we had splurged on a few big, showy flowers from Home Depot. Today, while the man planted some strawberries we bought on the same trip along the fence, I prepared a hanging basket for a bright raspberry colored geranium. I pulled it from its paper nursery pot, and out fell a little tag. It proudly announced that the plant was protected from "problematic" pests by neonicotinoid poisons. I felt betrayed and blindsided. I don't want these poisons in my Park! I would much rather have bees that live after pollinating my flowers than have something evil to kill aphids that I could just as easily control with a homemade soapy spray from my own kitchen. I checked the petunias and hydrangea I bought at the same time, and tucked away in discreet locations (deep inside full leaves, nested behind species identifier tags) were more tags with the same info. It was ten miles to go back to Home Depot to return them, but when we decided we needed sawhorses for the next project we're beginning, we loaded everything we could back in the truck for a refund. As we drove away afterwards in the gas-pig truck, heading to the Lowe's closer to home for sawhorses and replacement flowers, the man said, "We burned three dollars worth of gas to make a statement that will probably not be heard." I did the best thing I could think of get my point across. I tweeted the company, saying as long as they use neonicotinoids, I will never buy plants there again. Feel free to repeat my message. (As Arlo Guthrie famously mused, "Imagine fifty people a day... They might think it's a movement!") Eventually they may get the hint.
I stumbled on the making of the Sound of Music special on TV tonight. I believe I'm on record from two years ago, declaring Julie Andrews one of my all time heroes. (And I got to see her deliver the commencement address at daughter number one's college graduation -- admit you are jealous.) It was a lovely way to end the day, especially since I started it singing "raindrops on roses" as I found just those in abundance this morning, as I walked around the Park. I love this time of year. Now I think I will crawl in bed under some whiskered kittens (who weigh ten to twenty pounds each) and keep thinking about that pros and cons list from yesterday. Still no hard decisions.
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