Being that we moved into a new house last Spring, our back yard was not landscaped. It was a rectangle plot of dirt, freshly turned over, waiting for sod, a sprinkler system, plants, a vegetable garden. It is still waiting. But one look out the back windows reveals that there is no sign of that freshly turned over dirt. It is a carpet of green: knee-high full of "grass" and weeds. (With the exception of a few small lego pieces and a struggling Trader Joes potted mini rose.) I am amazed at the beautiful struggle for all things to thrive.
Here are a few things I have learned about my life from weeds:
They seem to appear out of nowhere. Especially when I am not looking.
They love to thrive in untended soil. They love my procrastination.
A lot of rain, mixed with a dose of sun, makes them grow. Wickedly fast.
If I am not steadfast in my efforts to yank them when they are young, I am in trouble.
Their mature roots are tough, hold fast, and run deep.
They are harder to pull when the the soil is packed, hard, cold, and old.
They are deceptively beautiful, sometimes. (Is that a weed or a flower?)
They love the random wind, because they have the chance to spread their seed.
They compete for the sun and ground space, squeezing the life out of the things that I have planted. The things that matter to me.
Out of dirt grows something. Weed or flower. One I do not choose to plant, one I do. One does not want my attention, one needs my care. One is life threatening, the other gives joy, pleasure.
And lastly, if I find my self standing in my backyard of knee-high weeds it is nobody's fault but my own...
3 comments:
One man's trash is another man's treasure or, in other words, one woman's weed is another woman's flower. Your photos made flowers out of weeds.
Weeds or not, these are beautiful!
Try getting down in the dirt and take them horizontally, not looking down. You'll get some interesting views. Do you have a tripod?
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