Three years ago we planted two grafted Methley plum trees. Each spring since then I hopefully look out the back window at them to see if they are going to bloom.
Always in the back of my mind is concern that they aren’t planted correctly or they are the wrong species for our climate, etc. They’ve grown in height very well, they just never bloom.
I was told it could take up to five years for them to bloom, so I wait. Last night I looked out and it looked like something was hanging in one of the limbs. So, I made a mental note to check it today. When I went out to check it, there were more…they were blooms.
The plums have decided it is time to bloom. Here’s a picture of some of them:
Abou Ben Adhem
James Henry Leigh Hunt (1784–1859)
ABOU BEN ADHEM (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw—within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich and like a lily in bloom—
An angel, writing in a book of gold,
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,
And to the presence in the room he said,
‘What writest thou?’—The vision raised its head,
And, with a look made of all sweet accord,
Answered, ‘The names of those who love the Lord.’
‘And is mine one?’ said Abou. ‘Nay, not so,’
Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,
But cheerly still, and said, ‘I pray thee, then,
Write me as one that loves his fellow men.’
The angel wrote and vanished. The next night
It came again with a great wakening light,
And showed the names whom love of God had blessed,
And lo! Ben Adhem’s name led all the rest.
[T]he honest men of ultra-conservative type who always dread change, whether good or bad.
— Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt: An Autobiography
I was struck by the truth of this statement. We see it today just as Theodore Roosevelt saw it in the early 20th century. It’s very visible in the older people who, I think, just get tired of being on their guard for ‘gotchas’ in yet another legislative change which may impact them adversely. We always need to consider this when we support legislation. Empathy is virtuous. If we’re lucky, we’ll be elderly one day, too.
