May 2008 - is a Rose a Rose?

May 12, 2008

When we picked Rose for the May choice, we had no idea how tough it would be. I mean, we know Merlin loves roses, because we can’t bring them home. Mmmm, they are tasty and worth any effort to get to, no matter where you put them. He doesn’t care about thorns, they are no issue. He’ll do anything to get to the nummy flower. No place is out of reach for a determined problem solver. So we envisioned he would home in on the boxes laid out before him, and it would be a lively session.

We set down one box of Keshava (Rose & Geranium) Incense and one box of Valley of Roses.

So imagine our surprise when our offer of two rose scents were met with so much, well, indifference. Maybe that’s why it has taken me so long to write it up. He just sat and looked away, as if to say, “Why did you drag me in here?” We finally got him to at least notice the boxes, but it was tough! Check out the sequence of shots:

: Nothing to do

: What's This?

: Closer look

: Or maybe not

: Is this it?

: Reach for it

Whew! He actually picked one. For a minute, we thought we would have to do the choosing. To be absolutely truthful though, we had to jumpstart his interest by lighting a stick of the patchouli between shots. But once we did, he had a definite preference. He chose Valley of Roses, by the same people as make the classic Nag Champa.
Merlin's Choice for May 2008