Thursday, August 30, 2018

Be the weed

We've had an unusual amount of rain this summer. Where I had sand dunes starting to form a few years ago, I now have a lush growth of various weeds*. And some grass, but mostly weeds.

One weed in particular, amaranth, is driving me crazy. Yes, I know its leaves and seeds are edible and nutritious, but just like I wouldn't want every square inch of my yard covered with pumpkins or parsley I'm overwhelmed with amaranth to the point of near-hatred.

Two kinds (maybe more) grow here. One is soft and doesn't hurt when I try to pull it up, the other kind is spiny and leaves my hands stinging for a while if I grab it by accident.

I won't spray it, because I just don't do that, and it would kill off the stuff I want growing there. So I keep fighting it physically.

It has been a daily battle this summer. I mow it, and the next day it looks like I did nothing. I use the trimmer to cut it off at ground level and it takes several days for it to recover, but it does recover. Then, instead of growing tall, as it does where no one bothers it, it spreads along the ground, going every direction out from its stalk. You'd think this kind of abuse would stop it from going to seed, but you'd be wrong. No matter how tiny the plants are, when they are ready to seed, they seed. I've never seen anything so resilient.

And I want to be like that.

Be the weed. If they keep chopping you down, keep coming back. If you can't grow as tall as you'd like, go to seed right at ground level. Just don't let them win.

*"Weed"-- a plant growing where it isn't welcome. Don't be that. Just be resilient and anti-fragile like a weed.

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