White rabbits and plant freedom

 It's October already, not sure how that happened. 

Yesterday was a fallow day for writing. Slow thoughtful day, not a blogging day. Blogging can get to resemble a treadmill, particularly when people expect a post and ask where it is! Now and then it just isn't.

Yesterday I declared my freedom from plants I don't like, and started by heaving the aglaonema that was basically dumped on me by a neighbor. I might offer it on Freecycle. 

And I think the staghorn fern has reached the end of its days, after a few good years, another dumpee, never a great specimen.

There's a sense of relief that it's okay to return to nature, or other homes, plants I've had enough of. Also a first, since I've always felt obliged to accept every plant neighbors were tired of, rescue fashion. I'm rethinking my rights!

And yesterday I got an id question about a pretty flowering plant which seemed to have shown up in a friend's flowerbed by who knows what means. I guessed it was a Rose of Sharon, some of which self seed wildly.

 Right or wrong in my identification, I also found they can be started from seed. Now this interested me, so next thing I've ordered a few so I can finally get the rose of Sharon I've been wanting for years.

Viz

I

 had one which was trampled out of existence during the last renovation before it got going, after months of waiting for it to arrive from the nursery and finally start the previous year.

This way, perhaps I will have something to transplant next year after the fence is replaced, if it ever is. It's at a dead stop now, waiting for supplies. 

I have a cold or an allergy or something dragging on, maybe I should skip the knitting group today for the sake of social responsibility. If it's a cold, not to spread it. I'll see how the morning goes maybe.

I was planning on watching a program about the history of Quakers in NJ last evening, then the speaker sent out a handout ahead of time. Dryest, dullest thing, not my speed. 

So I skipped the Zoom and did a bit of exploration on YouTube, much more interesting. And I found that a lot of what I do and how I proceed with art and living is quite Quaker like, interesting. I might become a Quaker at large, not being interested in group things much. I'm going to check in the next local Friends Zoom meeting. 

I certainly always admired the spirit of Fox, the founder, a friend of King Charles. He is said to have gone into the king's presence with his hat on and was reproved for it. 

Whereupon, true to his principles, he replied "Charles, thou dost not doff thy hat (the crown) to me. I do not doff my hat to thee." Good job he was a friend. It wouldn't have gone down well otherwise. Such dignity and walking the walk though. No title for another human being, courtesy but no special privilege even to a king. Thrills my little egalitarian heart!

So that's what a fallow day will do for a person! No end of trouble you can get into.