Nature and privilege

Nature first. I planted three of the dozen moringa seeds, figuring that if they don't flourish I'll try again with more.

Right now, though the pot's very wet from Ida, I thought since there's no rain forecast for several days, it might dry out enough not to rot the seeds.

They're a lovely shape, with a soft husk in a triangular form. They'll come indoors when the weather cools because they're definitely tropical.

And while we're out there, here's the ginger

doing better since I took Aditha's advice and covered them deeper.

And the wild blackberry running riot where I had been tossing vegetable and fruit scraps. No sign of berries but I live in hopes.

This 

is probably a melon or squash plant winding its way around the ground cover,  a few flowers blooming, though it might be a bit late to get any fruit before cold weather. It's a volunteer from seeds that Butternut Boy missed.

I've been involved with a semi serious online discussion about privilege today, mainly the kind of  unconscious privilege of world travelers who assure us that home's best. 

Or ladies taping videos from palatial homes about their programs of frugality. People with all kinds of options advising us to seek joy in the little things.  

As Josie  George points out, these are important ideas, but we need to recognize if we're qualified to express them to people who don't have money, time, health,  interesting convo.  

She has terrible ill health, writes, luminously,  about her immediate surroundings because that's all she can access. She takes joy in small things because she has no opportunity of larger ones. Many days she can't get further than bed to chair, if that. She doesn't toot her own flute, just muses.

I'd say she's qualified. Someone who went on a year long Eat Pray Love pilgrimage to Europe and Asia, to come home enlightened, not so much!

The people, usually men, who say you need to take the first hour of the day for quiet thought and reflection before you involve yourself. It does sound hollow to a parent who can not do that without little kids wanting breakfast, help finding shoes, cats throwing up, dogs wanting out, her own clothes and appearance needing to get ready for work. 

Or the idea of setting aside savings from every paycheck, offered as advice to people choosing between groceries and rent. The advice to borrow from parents to put a down payment on a home. Assumes the parents can afford to do it! 

And so on. The minimalist movement is largely led by people who can afford it, ironically. Simple can be expensive. But don't worry, you can buy all sorts of magazine subscriptions and books and gear to help you be minimal..

I'm not very worked up about it, just smiling wryly when I come across it, which is pretty often. It does get pretty funny after a while.

Do you have any tiny axes to grind on this subject? 

Living in interesting times

Today was supposed to be all weather all the time. Chimney postponed, tomorrow doctor likewise. But cloudy, cool, kids out playing touch football, I wondered if I'd been a bit hasty there.

I got on with non-weather-governed things, such as this, loads of fun

And, more seriously, this

Long interesting essays around loneliness, physical aloneness against the will, existential loneliness which strikes through being in company. She chooses visual art as the vehicle for her thinking, the first essay being about Hopper. He for many people is the authority on aloneness and longing to connect.  

She discusses some of his most iconic work and lesser known ones, with a sympathetic inclusion of his wife, Jo, also a painter, whose talent he relentlessly tried to suppress and extinguish. 

She threw her energies into promoting his work, a Stockholm syndrome set-up if ever there was one. The loneliness of being married to him probably surpassed anything in the paintings, for which she was also his model

It's disturbing to read about his cruelty, but important to understand. If possible. Next up is Andy Warhol, so we'll see.

Then in the mail, look, my moringa seeds came

You can see them in the window of the packet. And a bonus present of some exotic cucumber seeds. Next year.

Here's a picture of the seeds before they're harvested, by this tiny company in Phoenix. In their back yard!

So I'll be starting them in a pot soon. I usually avoid sending or receiving plant material or seeds from other states out of concern for accidentally exporting or introducing regional diseases. But I did make an exception.

In fact it wasn't possible in and out of NJ for several years after the anthrax attack shortly after 9/11. Yes, that was our post office. All our mail, in and out, was irradiated to kill the deadly anthrax spores.

At first they overdid it and turned the mail into cinders. I got a plastic bag and an apologetic note, sorry, this is your mail. Just crisp brown shreds of paper. Bills, legal mail, who knew what you should have received. 

I lost access to a British pension because they said l failed to return the annual form for declaring my eligibility. I wrote to say most likely it was incinerated, and could they try again. 

After some hesitation they said they'd researched my account, were so sorry for the experience, and here's a new form, also they would backdate to catch me up. Tiny pension, but welcome anyway.

And on the subject of mail, here's one of the results of my get out the vote work along with many other people. Legislation providing this

Pre filled out with my information from the voter rolls, just sign, date and return to ensure vote by mail ballots forever. 

I chose to get them for every election, president to fire district. Prepaid envelope. This is good. Contrasts vividly with states doing their best to suppress the vote and worse. 

Then it was late afternoon and it started raining. And flooding. Thunderstorm overhead, massive lightning, an entire evening of tornado warnings and reports, phone alerts to take cover,  trees and wires down all around me, 

Now 11pm and heavy rain but the part of the storm that touched down the damaging tornadoes locally has finally moved on. Some awful pictures. 

However, flooding is serious. This is the current state of affairs. Closed roads too many to list. We had several inches of rain, still going on heavily out there.

Looks like it wasn't hasty to postpone the doctor after all. I doubt if anyone can get anywhere tomorrow. 

Right now Handsome Son and I are safe and dry in our respective homes, except he's moved his car to higher ground because he's pretty much surrounded by water, the marsh having invaded the parking lots where he lives.

We still have power, and WiFi. So this is good. I'll keep you posted. Finally got calm enough to blog.

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