Life is short and hard for some living entities. Every spring, the neighbour(s) hang(s) a nice potted plant: always in the same spot. Come every darn year, I think that, just maybe, this will be the year that they might water it on occasion. Every doggone year, they don’t. Every dadgum year, it perishes quickly. Every freakin year, it saddens me.
It’s not a deep mystery. Potted plants need water in some form or another just about every day. And surely it isn’t all that onerous to deliver a cup of water. Or you wouldn’t think so
The house is owned by a mom who only lived there for a short while before moving in with her boyfriend. Her three daughters have lived there ever since then. One young lady remains, possibly in her mid-twenties now. Twenty-five is not too young to know enough to deliver a cup of water to a plant. It is right on the doorstep after all.
She’s young but not that young. I guess she deserves some credit for starting out in hope every spring, but really, a cup of water … just a cup of water …
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Now I am thinking of the gospel song, Follow Me, by Ira Stamphill. "Just a cup of water" is major phrase in the song. He came to our church as an evangelist in maybe the mid-fifties. We purchased his LP: our first ever I believe. We later bought a record player so we could listen to it.
If anything I thought that I might find another artist doing the song on YouTube. Unexpectedly however, I seem to have have found, Stamphill himself, just the recording though. But is takes me back to our little, one bedroom, upstairs flat on Connaught Street, in Saint Laurent, Montreal.
I used to have a neighbor who thought you never needed to water outdoor pots because the rain would take care of them! I used to stealth water his plants while he was at work. He'd point to them to prove that nature was taking care of them, see how healthy they were?
ReplyDeleteI have never heard that hymn. I love how you grew this post, AC! Beautifully done!
ReplyDeleteI thought you would tell us that you stealth watered it, but you didn't. Very sad little plant indeed,
ReplyDeleteI was going to stealth water it, but it was too high to water from the ground level, and when I went up on the porch with my watering can her dog nearly came through the screen door to attack me, so I gave up on that mission of mercy.
ReplyDeleteWell that's just so sad. Pretty flowers that never got watered. And yet the pot hangs there for all to not enjoy!
ReplyDeleteThe nice hanging flower pots are not cheap. This makes no sense, but there it is. Ira has a clear voice.
ReplyDeleteHow can she ignore that dead plant? At least take it down.
ReplyDeleteWorthy wishes from a thoughtful man. Thank you for sharing with us all. Aloha, AC
ReplyDeleteWhy would you bother hanging it out if you didn't intend to look after it? Poor plants.
ReplyDeleteI watered my hanging baskets and they still died. They need a LOT of water! I don't understand why the daughter would keep trying with plants if she doesn't want to go to any effort to care for them.
ReplyDeletePeople never fail to amaze. You would think she would have figured it out by now or would have taken the dead plant down.
ReplyDeleteHanging baskets are strange beasts IMO. Even with regular watering I have poor luck reaching late August with them looking nice. They are usually spindly looking and less than attractive come the middle of August no matter how much I fuss with them.
ReplyDeletePipeTobacco
She needs a live in MIL like mine. She putters around all afternoon watering the various plants and keeping them looking healthy. That is about the only perk to a live in MIL.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if she doesn't know they need water, or she just doesn't do it. So bizarre she takes the time and money to buy it just to let it die?!
ReplyDeleteThat is just sad. Poor flowers. There is a family that does the same in the little cemetery near us. This cemetery is not routinely cleared of plants, flowers, etc. This family hangs a plant on a shepherd's hook every year at Memorial Day. And there it hangs to die, every year. There is a kind of symbolism there, I guess.
ReplyDeleteI set up a timed automatic sprinkler for my garden so when I go away for long, the plants get to have a regular drink
ReplyDeleteI can tell the plant issue has been burning you up. It's pretty hard to watch a waste like that day after day.
ReplyDeleteOh dear! Hanging pots are particularly at risk from drying out...
ReplyDeleteYes, hanging plants are the pits to care for. Well, for me anyway. I've never had great luck. I always take them and soak them in a bucket of water every other day. They lose moisture so quickly!
ReplyDeleteMaybe the plant is a yearly gift that she doesn't necessarily want and the gifter hangs it up for her. Then she forgets about it.
ReplyDeleteThat is an interesting mystery! Do you ever think to go water it, just for fun?!
ReplyDeleteSome of my potted summer flowers reside in the screened and roofed porch. What I do is grab them off their hooks and stands when rain is forecast and stand them out on the open deck to get rained on. cleans the leaves as well as waters the roots. Maybe you need to hook the poor thing off it's hangar and put it out in the rain? Would the owner notice? Nah.
ReplyDeleteI must admit I periodically cross the line into my neighbours' to rectify something or other that sorely needs it. I am a big believer in boundaries so I know I shouldn't...anyway, I can relate to your aggravation.
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