Monday, February 22, 2010

Back from Vancouver and trees are being stolen, WTF!

So, I had my Olympic moment!! I took the train up to meet my cousin (who drove up with a friend) and stayed with family up there. We did our usual runs to Chinatown and Goldilocks, but the main reason was to soak in the atmosphere of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics!

Riz Vancouver 2010 cropped

I didn't hesitate to take the opportunity to get away from work to do this. The stunning weather we've been having has been such a dream and I did pretty well not thinking (nor worrying) about work. Of course, it would have been nice to get more accomplished at Landwave, but I was proud of myself for making sure I didn't overlook other aspects of my life.

Feel free to check out my pics from Vancouver on my Flickr page.

So I got home and was watching the news (and missing the live coverage of the games Vancouver had) and a fellow horticulturist, Meghan Fuller, was on television! The Crown Hill neighborhood of North Seattle has fallen victim to plant and outdoor furniture thefts. Check out the coverage by Q13 Fox. Knowing Meghan, she's a fellow plant nut and a true collector of the rare and unusual!

Like the UW Botanic Gardens theft of the Keteleeria evelyniana last December, it infuriates me that people have no bloody respect for other people's property!
No matter what it is, may it be plants, a car stereo, a break-in at your home, etc., it's incredibly unsettling and you just don't feel safe.

I should contact Meghan and ask what they took and we just need to keep an eye out on sites like Craigslist to see if anything is posted that's hers or her neighbor's who also were victims as bonsai trees and furniture were also stolen.

Plant thieves will f'ing pay. They just don't understand how much work it takes to produce a plant, design, install and maintain a landscape that they're used in and the peanuts professional landscapers and specialty nurseries make to have these plants available to avid gardeners.

Admire these plants where they are, don't freakin' take a neighbor's shovel to dig up a plant to claim it as your own.

If I catch someone intentionally stealing or damaging another's landscape or property, I will NOT hesitate to yell and approach them with a strong desire to throw their ass in a patch of hardy Agave parryi.



I'll leave the authorities to find them moaning in pain as they slowly bleed. That should give them time to think about what they're doing!


R

3 comments:

  1. Well put, Riz~~ Likely a quick turnover for drug money. Despicable. One look at that Agave and the culprits will opt for the chair instead.

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  2. Thieves and other criminals used to baffle me until I studied about sociopaths. It's hard for those of us with a conscience to understand that others do not have one. An estimated 4% of the population (1 in 25 people) are sociopaths who have no way of understanding how their crimes hurt others.

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  3. Riz:
    The sheer audacity of some people. I remember a nursery where I used to work had a rather spectacular display bed, and on at least three different occasions I caught people in the process of attempting to dig something out - Trillium grandiflora 'Plena' or Arisaema sikokianum and yes, even caught someone with trowel buried to handle at the base of a most beloved Paeonia mlokosewitschii.[Customers accused me of being a little possessive of the plants] It is most infuriating! I like your idea so long as 'Parryi' doesn't get damaged. I know of a few bottomless rock quarries in my neck of the woods!

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