Serendipity
A quote I stumbled upon in seeking’s diary in an entry made many months ago:
A quote I stumbled upon in seeking’s diary in an entry made many months ago:
There’s an additional delay with the Socialist’s car. They sent the wrong parts. Why they are only finding out now, the day they said it would be done, is another story entirely. I can’t decide whether or not to shoot the Socialist or myself, or just blow up the body shop.
One of the things that I’ve omitted mentioning recently is that I itch. I’m not talking little mosquito bite itch. I’m not even talking poison ivy itch. I’m talking itch that makes you seriously consider removing your skin down to the sub-dermal fat layer. I’m talking itch that makes you claw frantically at whatever part…
Today started off quite slowly, and has managed to stay that way so far. I woke to the sound of rain against the windows of the bedroom. Checking the time, I was amazed to find it was 12:30 in the afternoon. I had a fair amount of sleep to catch up on, but I don’t…
OK. I didn’t have anything worthy to write anyhow. This one is from AnneOakley to monstergue to Yetzirah to me. (See drop-box at bottom of page for links to these and other Salamander-endorsed diaries.) 13 RANDOM THINGS YOU LIKE:01. Elfinware02. Gemstones03. Tidepools and their inhabitants04. Fireflies05. Six week old kittens06. Snood07. Gin Rummy08. Back rubs09….
Damn. Came to work without my wallet. Don’t even have enough change to get forty cent coffee out of the machine. Most days I go all day without eating. Today, since I can’t buy anything, I’ve decided I’m starving. Go figure. I was going through the pictures from my digital camera, trying to get them…
I find it impossible to ignore their silent passage this year. Much of my days is spent traversing back and forth on the pavement outside my office door. Each time I walk through the lot I try to remember to look up, and Iรขยยm seldom disappointed. Even if I forget to look because of distractions…
We have neighborhood hoodlums like this too. I can tell those interested of the Great Mushroom Scare of 2003, courtesy of unsupervised youth. Poor AudreyII, Poor Salamander. I am now in complete awe of Yarngirl.
Ah ha, incognito kitty.
The children should have been taught to respect your garden. Someone failed somewhere in that lesson.
Their parents would be wise in buying some plants for the girls own garden so they too could learn the joy of raising something beautiful.
The kids should not be playing in the parking lot, period!
When I was four years old, I helped myself to some irises in the yard of the next-door-neighbor-lady. My Dad, connecting the dots between headless stalks he’d noticed as he was coming up the driveway and the bouquet he saw me give my mom, marched me RIGHT away over to next-door-neighbor-lady to make an apology. It was a lesson I have NEVER forgotten.
Quite a few of us on the Net are cross with these kids, too. We were ALL getting kind of fond of the Mystery Plant.
Poor AudreyII ๐
What a sad commentary on our times that children are not taught proper respect for the property and privacy of others.
I’d be tempted to put up a small electric fence and zap the little buggers. I learned to respect those mighty quick when I was a kid. ouch! ๐
And so are the joys of living in an apartment. Your description and picture brought back memories that make me shudder…. Unsupervised kids… walkways lined with cigarette butts… looking for a parking place…
Perhaps it’s time to concentrate on your patio… a place of your own…not in the path of the devil’s spawn….
~QE
Have you ever thought about being a detective? Seriously, I would be very mad about whoever pinched the flower off.
Your flowers are beautiful, I planted all mine this morning. ๐
Those purples are just brilliant. You might consider putting a sign up that says "anyone caught picking flowers will have their fingers gnawed off by The Gray Menace". I think most children should be locked up until they are at least 18 and barring that, be kept on a leash.
Sounds to me like those kids are related to the ones on our street who throw rocks at our neighbor’s dogs. The dogs are fenced in their yard, but that doesn’t stop these kids from throwing rocks at them.
I’m so sorry to see your poor Canterbury Bells… What a disappointment to come home and discover.
Julie
Johnny Jump Ups and Petunias make good companions for anything. Dwarf Sweet Peas are another good choice.
Alli
*sigh* I miss kitties hiding behind flowers. TX has been making noises about getting a cat, but we probably wouldn’t unless and until we moved.
my parent’s neighbors used to cut Mom’s roses (they were in the front yard), that is until i raised holy hell. i’d keep guard on the porch and they finally got tired of trying to dodge me. i also managed to harrass them into giving up the puppy they liked to neglect/abuse.
I’m so sorry for your loss.
Seriously, you’re a PEARL Salamander! I couldn’t stop laughing while reading your entry – just because you use language so well trust me, not because of your flower getting murdered.
I can’t wait for the entry after you’ve caught those little girls in action. like decorating each other’s hair with your beautiful buds ;).
oh, the humanity!!! i’d forgotten how evil children can be.
hmmm, how about a pox on her house? favorite toy, perhaps?
You could make an attempt at approaching the parents. Say something along the lines of "Those plants cost me a small fortune (don’t mention that it was a fortune of time trying to figure out what they were), and your children have damaged them. If it happens again I expect to be reimbursed".
That type of approach to parents I thought would not care has worked for me in the past. Amazing how much more attentive parents can be if the possibility of them having to pay out money comes into play.
Alli
You could make an attempt at approaching the parents. Say something along the lines of "Those plants cost me a small fortune (don’t mention that it was a fortune of time trying to figure out what they were), and your children have damaged them. If it happens again I expect to be reimbursed".
That type of approach to parents I thought would not care has worked for me in the past. Amazing how much more attentive parents can be if the possibility of them having to pay out money comes into play.
Alli
That was hilarious!
I thought I recognised the quote, then I realised it came from my diary! Tsk, such a memory.
Your sleuthing is remarkable. Those girls definitely LOOK guilty, but did you rule out the Socialist? Perhaps you’ve done something to upset him?
I’ve thought of a few remedies to protect the dear brethren of poor Audrey II:
* a series of mirrors from said plants reflecting one upon the other all the way to your apartment so you don’t have to be out on your balcony watching at all times;
* security cameras;
* pretend security cameras;
* a sign telling of hidden security cameras;
* a sign telling that the plants belong to known murderers (I didn’t make this one up… on the tiniest little garden in inner city Sydney, a sign said "You wouldn’t steal flowers from a gangster, would you?" I walked passed that every day for a while and the sign seemed to be working)
* barb-wire the perimeter
* a sign saying the plants may be poisonous
* a prickly cactus perimeter
It reminds me of a lovely bloom I had been nurturing, a white agapanthus. My three year old carried it into the kitchen and presented me with its broken off head. I blew up like fireworks in the poor kid’s face. He literally shook with fright. I apologised to him later. That was 13 years ago. Give it a few more years and I guess that story, or the scars caused by it, will be subject for psycho-analysis.
‘Why am I afraid of flowers?’
btw, Cattitude looked sooo sweet!