I love white flowers, so I am really delighted with these tulips. They were a valentine gift from David and Thom, who know that I prefer plants to cut flowers. When I got them there were no blooms or even buds at all, and I feared for their lives. My house in the winter is so cold that even the hardiest hardy plants must struggle to survive. However, within a couple of days one bud appeared, followed by five more. Now they are all open. I am surprisingly cheered by the sight of them. Oblivious to the dirt, clutter and cold, they went about their own business. They are simply what they are, doing what they do. I know they would have done the same no matter where they were. They needed no encouragement and no reward. I find them admirable....they were determined to be beautiful without encouragement or reward.
Whenever I think of the way plants do things, it reminds me of the professor I had in my freshman creative writing course. I described a geranium being planted at a grave. Dr. Holmes remarked negatively on my indulging in "the pathetic fallacy." You can see how much good his criticism did.
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