There was a quiet knock and Alek Dog began to bark gently. I thought I had best clamber up to the front of the house and see whether a real person might be at my door. I was surprised to discover there was; my best guess had been that the noise was in the street and Alek had made up the rest.
A bearded man in a sweatshirt and baseball cap was standing not at the door but on the walk leading up to it. When I unlocked and unlatched he called out that he was seeking some nomination for the Republican Party for which he needed signatures. Could I help him out? No, I could not. Alright; he wasn't fazed at all (and a good thing if he is going into politics).
He began to turn away but turned back and said, You have a beautiful yard here! Thank you, I said.
It is good to be reminded that appreciation for flowers and trees and of the bees they bring is not correlated with party -- or with age or gender or differing inclinations on how to serve our community. Young fathers and mothers with children, old couples, cousins and folks who live across the street have said the same about my front garden.
Everyone it seems except the next door neighbor to the west.
I would like my natural garden to be a unifier of the neighborhood. It surely helps unify the lives of the bumblebees and butterflies but any attempt to unify the people is beset with impediments. Each species of bee can be studied and its preferences known and provided for, but the range of human opinion has no apparent limit.