Well, I managed to get the avocado wrapped up yesterday morning before I went to work. Dave had to leave before me so it wound up being a solo job, but at least I had the benefit of daylight. It was perfect timing, too, because about two hours later it was snowing.
I wired a bamboo pole to the avocado's trunk, to hold the peak of the wrapping above the foliage. Then I used two more poles to lift the shroud over the top of the tree, and then clipped a second shroud around the base. Hopefully that's enough.
I considered color-correcting that photo above, because it's so blue -- but that's what the thin morning light looks like at this time of year. So I left it.
When I checked my phone a little while ago it was 30º F outside (about -1º C) and it's usually a tad warmer on the patio, so I'm optimistic. I'll leave the tree shrouded into the weekend, when it's supposed to warm up again.
I was in the Lower School when the snow started falling yesterday morning and the little kids' faces lit up like it was Christmas. Of course they're all so young they may have never seen snow before, or not remembered it, anyway. It melted as soon as it landed, but it was pretty while falling.
I read a disturbing story in The New York Times yesterday about the growth of Orthodox Christianity among young converts, who see it as a strong, masculine, demanding religious tradition. A certain strain of young, conservative men like the patriarchal structure, the beards, the emphasis on family and tradition -- and the idea that it's Christianity closer to the "source." Of course I have nothing against Orthodoxy, particularly for those who are born into it, but it's worrisome that young men seek it out for perhaps not the healthiest of reasons (and risk distorting the religion in the process). Apparently the growth of the church is partly due to online influencers, which of course makes me suspect the malign hand of certain international actors.
And now I read that young Spaniards are drawn to Franco and the Spanish government is trying to find ways to educate people about the terrors of his regime.
Is this a generational thing, a pendulum effect? People who are too young to know what authoritarianism really is, being drawn to it? What is this need for a big boss daddy, for discipline and structure? Why are kindness and compassion seen as "feminine" weakness (an inherently misogynist association)? Maybe now that we're seeing authoritarian tendencies creep into our own governments and our daily lives (at least in the USA, but potentially also in the UK with the rise of Reform) younger people will begin to see the downsides and better appreciate freedom and liberalism. Wishful thinking?
Good work on the avocado. I don't pay attention to religions and what is happening, but reading your words makes me hope this authoritarian thing doesn't really take off.
ReplyDeleteSomehow I think it is the uncertainty that has crept into the world. The need for leadership has found a rather frightening road to follow. That avocado outfit looks rather ghostlike.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone breaks into your garden in the dark ,that wrapped plant will give them a fright!!
ReplyDeleteI’m having the same wishful thoughts. For years, it was simply not appropriate to speak of Franco here. People are now thinking that was a grave mistake. I’ve actually met one or two Franco supporters and the thought chills me to the bone. None, however, have been young although one was a child when Franco died. Can we just wrap them in shrouds until their brains thaw?
ReplyDeleteRegarding your last paragraph, I agree that worldwide trends towards authoritarianism and anti-woke harshness are most concerning. As you say, it's all probably a product of history's pendulum swinging. It shows that we should never be complacent about democracy and liberalism.
ReplyDeleteAs for the shrouded avocado tree, cut two eye holes in it and it will look like a member of the Ku Klux Klan. That should scare away the neighbourhood cats.
I agree with the other comments - that is one spooky avocado tree!
ReplyDeleteI find the tendency you describe very worrying. It is almost self-understood (although by no means universal) that young Muslim men go for the paternalistic, strong man image, but seeing it in so-called Christians is relatively new. As a peace-loving woman who believes in God and grew up with Christian values, even though I have not been part of any organised religion since my late 20s, I just wish everybody could get along and play nice... but I know that's not going to happen.
ReplyDeleteYour ghostly avocado will scare your upstairs neighbours!
No snow yet in my area, but even though snow in town is never nice for long, my eyes light up like those children's did when I see the first snow of the season. It is a magic moment.
That is a creepy tree now! Maybe paint eyes on it to complete the effect.
ReplyDeleteYoung men probably see orthodoxy as a way of having it their way, being centered. And I remember the Spanish exiles in the UK from Franco. And how the minute he died, they were no longer subject to arrest, so rushed back to visit. Not to stay, they'd established lives and families in the UK.
That is an excellent wrappping job you did there. How will the foxes react? Any news from your camera?
ReplyDeleteWhen I look at the figures, stats, about growing authoritarian youth, which I find just as worrysome as you do, I find it helps to see that wheneever there are 30% or 27% or even 35% of young people approving of authoritarian leadership, there are also 70% or 73% or still 65% not in agreement.