Fish and Flowers

OilMan brought in these unusual Arbutulon prunings after his mad dash to get everything ready for the expected hard frost. He stuck them in a crystal vase, which Dana deemed all wrong. The next time I looked, she had changed them into a far more suitable receptacle.

We did indeed have a hard frost last night. It is so dry that there is very little frost. A couple of standpipes froze but didn't burst, and OilMan rushed off to the hardware store for pipe wrapping material while I picked up Peter and his friend Gavin at school. On the way I learned that Nelson Mandela died this morning.

I clearly remember watching the television coverage in 1994 when he was elected president, a seemingly impossible accomplishment in a nation divided by apartheid. He was cheered by black and white alike as he was introduced to his nation by Bishop Desmond Tutu. The singing of the South African national anthem brought tears to my eyes. As President Obama said so eloquently, "He no longer belongs to us. He belongs to the ages." A profound loss to the world.

It is hard to imagine any of our politicians being willing to put their very lives on the line for freedom and justice for all.