Your neighbor gives you cut basil,
which you stick into water to stay fresh
until your lazy buns are inspired to make pesto.
& shell out $$$ for pine nuts.
So, now that you're ready to spin the blade,
you see this:
They've rooted.
I wanna live!
Your heart melts.
Poor little plant; it just wants to live.
Can you really chop off its toes and feel nothing?
Poor little plant; it just wants to live.
Can you really chop off its toes and feel nothing?
erg...
I hate killing things.
I'm the worst baby-veggie-plant thinner in the WORLD.
So, I potted up one basil plant, just now...
"Stay-of-execution Stan"
But, I still have more.
And there's also the mint & lavender snippings she gave me...
... which have also rooted. Of course.
I procrastinated, and am rewarded with a dilemma:
New "house plants" I don't want, or kill growing plants.
Plants that have this one chance at life.
Plants that have this one chance at life.
spectacular lion photo by yaaaay, via Wiki.
When I was a kid, I won an art contest in school.
Not because of my skill (marginal).
But, because I basically ignored the rules
and changed the wording to my (and apparently the judges') liking.*
I crayoned "All Animals Need Love"
under a girl in a red dress hugging a lion.**
I figured everyone loves kitties and puppies,
but there are lots of animals people are afraid of,
and otherwise don't "love" that,
nevertheless, need love.
Hence the lion.
Anyhow, I may need to expand that phrase to
"All Living Things Wanna Live."
And that, basically, is my favorite part of biology,
and why I'm a conservation biologist.
*sigh*
Fate. Urf.
Guess I'll call my neighbor,
ask if I can get some new cuttings,
whirl them right away (before they notice),
(photo by bonnieplants.com)
and root around in the shed for more pots....
=)
xoxobb
*(ooh, a budding editor!!)
**(kinda, freaky, now that I've danced with one)
At the end of planting time, there are ALWAYS seedlings leftover. Can I toss them in the compost heap? No-I can't just KILL a healthy plant. So I carefully "plant" them along the edges of the compost pile. They are ALWAYS my healthiest and best producing plants. I figure they are grateful I didn't toss them (but yes, I KNOW it's the compost doing it)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your new children.
LOL!
Hee. Yup. And I've noticed that it SEEMS like every cat I've met that's a rescue kitty, maybe esp. if they were rescued young enough, is SUPER sweet. Our 2 lovely, charming creatures, were homeless little things when first we met.
DeleteIt's all so double-edged, though, isn't it? All things wanna live, often by eating other things... AH, biology. And my research career, prompted as it was by my love of living things, still involved a lot of "sacrificing" of living things for the Greater Good (er, a few datat points).
ReplyDeleteStill, I sympathize (or rather, empathize) with your plant compassion (Annie often has to be stern with me about this tendency). But, you know, now that you've potted these beauties, wouldn't they make nice gifts for friends who invite you to dinner? (Foist them off, I say! -I mean, give someone a lovely present.)
I KNOW re: double-edge. I could much more easily watch nature shows where you watch one thing kill another (and not necc. quickly and def. not painlessly) when I was a kid. Now, not so much. And, yes, to be able to find barnacle monitoring plots year to year, we'd have to scrape off (i.e. kill) all the baby barnacles that'd settled on the metal post marker-thingy so we could actually see it the next time. annnnnnnnd ew. Anyhow, I was kinda getting grossed out/bummed and a volunteer told me "it's for their brethren." aw.... so sweet.
DeleteI think you are an EVIL GENIUS re: foi-, um, I mean generously giving lovely basil plants to inviters. GREAT idea. =) Thanks.