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.


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.