Always An Excuse

There are these scrawny rose bushes in front of my apartment building that produce the most beautiful, fragrant blooms. I've shared a picture of a rose from these bushes with you before. I love walking by them every morning. I literally stop to smell the roses every day there are open buds. I don't know how but these poorly cared for bushes bloom for what feels like forever. The blooms start to appear in the mid-summer and continue until it starts to frost. Just a lovely treat to start my days.

One day a few months ago the wind was just terrible and it was knocking the tallest bush up against the brick steps. I thought it was the end of the roses since the temperature was starting to drop significantly and it was starting to get frosty but there was one beautiful bloom left. I decided to save it and I cut it off the branch with my car key. I took it up to the apartment and put it in some water. The rose opened up within a few hours and was so fragrant that its scent filled the room. I felt a little bad about taking the rose because I would be really upset if people took the communal roses but I figured no one would enjoy it if the wind killed it.

Well the frost still hasn't come yet and the bushes are still producing blooms. And this morning there was another terrible wind. And there was one lovely bloom left. And I took it. And I hope it enlivens my friend's apartment like it enlivened mine. But for some reason I don't feel any guilt. I guess I feel that I'm doing my part to prune. But seriously, I can't keep doing this.