Unexpected pleasures...

One of the unexpected pleasures (I am pretty sure there aren't many) of not doing the yard work is the abundance of rose hips in the garden this year.  Had I been more diligent about deadheading the roses, these beauties would not now be appearing and growing ever larger all around the yard.  This one is from Altissimo, an odd climber (in that its canes are quite thick and stiff so that it cannot be wound 'round any sort of climbing structure) with fabulously huge red single flowers.  Abundant hips are evident on Penelope (no giggling, please), Erfurt, and Dortmund as well.

Of course, many of us learn that not getting around to something can yield unexpected pleasures.  It turns out that not everything has to be done on time or even done at all.  (My family holds this to be particularly true for raking leaves.  Maybe they will just blow away....) Not getting around to cleaning out a closet or drawer preserves that odd little thing we might have thrown away that now is just perfect for another use.  Not weeding allows a lovely volunteer to appear in the garden.  Not pressing for resolution of a knotty problem at church or home or work allows a solution to emerge organically and gracefully and relieves us of the burden of being and being perceived as really too pushy.

I am glad both that the roses are still blooming even though it's mid-November and that I didn't get around to trimming off all the deadheads from the heavy September bloom.  Now all winter I (and the birds) will enjoy these beauties decorating the bare branches until whenever it is they finally wither away.