Walking through my yard yesterday my mind went off in a strange direction - Death and dying. A cheery subject for a lovely afternoon, I thought to myself. You know those strange conversations you have with yourself from time to time, right? Anyway, the question is: Why is it that somethings die beautifully and others die ugly? I am not just talking about plants.
I saw these coneflowers near my driveway and my first thought was "Ugh, I am going to have to pull those OUT!" but I continued on my way to the other side of the house and as I looked up, I saw the most amazing colors in my Japanese Maple - Humm. Almost side by side, two ways to die. Dried up and hard or colorful and floaty. Is floaty a word? Now I know that the tree isn't exactly dying but the leaves are going to be dead and gone in another day or two - just another mess for me and my broom to sweep up! And yet, the coneflowers would remain exactly where they are until I physically pull them out of the ground. It's a puzzlement. So which is the preferable way to "go" I wonder?
Today I was once again in the yard and found myself looking at both the coneflower and the Maple. I had been busy all afternoon pruning, pulling, raking, burning, stacking wood and hauling...those brightly colored leaves, just a part of the burn pile now. The coneflowers? Still standing proud and tall in the flowerbed. I just couldn't bring myself to pull them out of the ground where they were obviously so deeply rooted.
I guess I admire the tenaciousness of the ugly death. That's the way I will go - prickly, hard and holding on to whatever I can find to keep me upright! Sorry kids.
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