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16 Sep 99 - 09:01 AM (#114666) Subject: Thought for the Day (Sept 16) From: Peter T. Near where I work, a curious experiment is underway, and its semi-futility is fascinating. An attempt is being made to create a small natural meadow in the heart of the city, using as many of the original species as possible. The result of this, as was predicted, is that the students involved have to spend most of their time weeding out non-original invasive species, i.e. weeds. What makes weeds so interesting and ineradicable, like cockroaches and pigeons, is that they thrive on human activity. They love disturbed ground, they breed rapidly, and they mimic the crops and other preferred species very closely, even twining themselves around their mimic, so getting rid of them is hell. And many of them were trucked or boated in by people who wanted things that could grow in dry places (apartments) or tough places (rocky gardens). As long as we thrive, weeds will thrive: they are our green shadow self. And we move ever further from some imaginary original state of natural balance. So the students weed on, sweating in the still warm autumn sun, tugging away at their little ecological morality tale. (p.t.) |
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16 Sep 99 - 09:27 AM (#114669) Subject: RE: Thought for the Day (Sept 16) From: MMario by definition a weed is merely a plant growing where it is unwanted. Many of our roadside "weeds" in the US were potherbs and garden plants for the early colonials. And some of our native "weeds" are ornamental plantings in Europe. I remember the first time I saw a picture of a highly prized Staghorn Sumac in a gardening magazine from Scotland....as I looked up from the magazine I saw the half acre of sumac my family has been trying to eradicate from the lawn for 2 generations now....mowing, burning, digging it out. Just depends on where it is... MMario |
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16 Sep 99 - 10:24 AM (#114678) Subject: RE: Thought for the Day (Sept 16) From: Jeri I moved into this house in May, and the lawns had been let go for years. I'm trying to plant a gardens in a couple areas, but in others, flowering weeds have pretty much taken over. And now I have a whole area full of blue flowers - maybe Asters? Joe Pye has gone by, Goldenrod is fading, Last month brought Yarrow, it will still be here tomorrow. While I try to plant what I want here, what wants to, grows out there, But the hummingbirds and butterflies don't care. Yesterday, I hacked down a bunch of 6' high spent Joe Pye and uncovered the entrance to quite a large burrow/den, that I hope belongs to the mother of all woodchucks. |
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16 Sep 99 - 11:05 AM (#114686) Subject: RE: Thought for the Day (Sept 16) From: catspaw49 Actually Jeri, it's sublet to Cleigh from a local woodchuck. Cleigh is a bit of the voyeur and he's occasionally gone from home here at odd times. I had Cletus tail him and he followed him to your place where Cleigh 'fessed up. Cletus really liked getting dressed up like Blake Madison and when he caught Cleigh he was so into the act that he snapped a few shots of you for himself. I was of course totally appalled and after a close, detailed, inspection of the pictures, I decided they were far too pornographic in nature for either Cleigh or Cletus, so I destroyed them.......only kept one copy of each for future reference purposes. Your story Peter.......reminds me of an old southerner I saw on a PBS thing about kudzu. Having spent a goodly part of my life in Kudzuland I really enjoyed it. This ol' mountain boy said, "Thairz three thangs I hate in this life, Kudzu...City Folks...and Kudzu." Karen and I had an outdoor Georgia wedding and had to plan the ceremony to be fluid and short. Sadly, the dickhead who performed the service got a little carried away with himself and while reading poetry was consumed by kudzu. Really kinda' tragic to leave him there and head off for the reception but he should have known better. Spaw
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16 Sep 99 - 11:24 AM (#114692) Subject: RE: Thought for the Day (Sept 16) From: Neil Lowe Not that I don't have a high regard for my fellow human being (well, most of them), but my own non-scientific gut feeling tells me that humans are an aberration - sort of like a pox on the planet - here merely to consume and multiply, eventually killing the host in (in our case, on) which they reside. And I wonder why the Shady Acres rest home never invited me back to cheer up the old folks.... Regards, Neil (propagator of gloom and doom) |
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16 Sep 99 - 12:11 PM (#114706) Subject: RE: Thought for the Day (Sept 16) From: catspaw49 Hell Neil, it didn't have anything to do with doom and gloom.........you're an asshole, that's all.......don't be so depressed.......just drop your pants and face a new day...............and stop by the Tavern for a drink! Spaw |
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16 Sep 99 - 12:25 PM (#114710) Subject: RE: Thought for the Day (Sept 16) From: Lonesome EJ While on a trip to New York City, I passed by a large fenced lot, completely overgrown with weeds which stood 4 to 6 feet tall. While I was speculating what kind of landlord would be allowed to so neglect his property, I noticed a plaque that read NATIVE PLANT HABITAT- This plot is planted with native vegetation, and represents the natural state of the Island of Manhattan prior to the arrival of the first white settlers. This was an impenetrable thicket. For the first time I had some insight into why the Indians sold the entire island to the Dutch for a handful of beads. In addition, I have sometimes considered hanging a similar plaque next to my yard, thus saving myself a hell of a lot of strife and yardwork. |
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16 Sep 99 - 12:28 PM (#114712) Subject: RE: Thought for the Day (Sept 16) From: KathWestra In my little suburban backyard, I do battle every summer with pokeweed, which grows from a network of twisted, football-size roots (I once dug one up that weighed 15 pounds!) to a height of about 12 feet. The pokeweed ALWAYS wins. It's intrepid, and resists all my heroic efforts to destroy it. The plant is toxic to touch, and grows like, well, a weed. Yet, right about this time of year, I develop a soft spot for my enemy. You see, its deep purply-blue berries are a magnet for a host of hungry songbirds, who flock to feed in my pokeweed "garden." While they're feasting, I declare a moratorium on my eradication efforts and just enjoy the show. It's all a matter of perspective... |
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16 Sep 99 - 12:51 PM (#114720) Subject: RE: Thought for the Day (Sept 16) From: Jeri 'Spaw, your possum does get out of hand sometimes, eh? Incidentally, could you tell him to knock off the wild parties? Last weekend I couldn't get any sleep because of the damned Waylon Jennings karaoke and the wild cackling of a flock of migrating chickens out for a good time. And some magazine called "Possum Tails" just called me to set up a photo shoot - now it all makes sense. |
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16 Sep 99 - 04:30 PM (#114769) Subject: RE: Thought for the Day (Sept 16) From: catspaw49 Yeah, Jeez Jer, I'm really sorry.......But Cleigh is so easily influenced..........I gotta' have a talk with Peter T., 'cause that damn Waylon Heron is totally out of hand........ spaw |
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16 Sep 99 - 05:13 PM (#114783) Subject: RE: Thought for the Day (Sept 16) From: katlaughing My neighbours call my front yard, "Dandelion Row", I prefer Dan de Lion! I used to dig the roots up and make dandelion root tinctures for friends with liver and other problems. Haven't done that in a few years, but still resent it when people call them weeds. Dandelion root tincture is good for all kinds of things, as well as the green leaves being quite good in salad, and healthy! Our backyard was so full of, ahem, weeds that we let it die down this summer, no water, nothing, and now we have a host of birds everyday coming in for a pit stop, pickin' away at all of the little seeds. I'd love to see the high plains the way they were before they got plowed under and powdered to dust. katlaughing |
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17 Sep 99 - 04:23 PM (#115056) Subject: RE: Thought for the Day (Sept 16) From: wildlone man always tries to bend nature. he is always suprised when it ups and bites him in the arse. .WL. |
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17 Sep 99 - 04:34 PM (#115061) Subject: RE: Thought for the Day (Sept 16) From: Bert I LIKE dandelions. I like the flowers and you can make a great oboe by squashing the end of a stem. They taste kinda bitter though. My Ex. went to a veggie restaurant in London one time and they had dandelion coffee on the menu. She wouldn't order any though cos the French for dandelion is pisenlit. Bert. |
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17 Sep 99 - 04:58 PM (#115069) Subject: RE: Thought for the Day (Sept 16) From: annamill Kat and Everyone, Here in New Jersey, one of the biggest past times is going up and down your lawn with weed killer. Anyone with a spot of yellow on their lawn is spurned. God forbid fluffy silver or gray little parachutes. They would give you death for that. I giggle at them...pooh. I love the spots of yellow, and manage to mow between the hearty little fellows, mostly. Other than dandelion wine and (if you'll excuse the expression) daisy chains, I had no idea they were so useful. I just like to blow the little parachutes into the air and watch them float over to a neighbors. Tee Hee. Love, annap
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17 Sep 99 - 05:06 PM (#115071) Subject: RE: Thought for the Day (Sept 16) From: katlaughing Annap, they do that here, too. That's why my neighbours glare at me all summer, except when we mow, which isn't often! I love dandelions. They are so bright & cheerful. Our city is supposed to give tickets to people who don't keep them down! So far I've not been cited. Annap, it is really good for pre-menopausal and menopausal times, along with motherwort tincture, besides being a great liver tonic. A good book for the wimmin aspect is Susan Weed's Menopausal Years, the Wise Womon Way. My friend who had deadly hepatitis, was on Social Security and a liver donor waiting list, did many other things to heal, but he also took my tincture and is now off SSI, off the need-a-donor list and working. Power to the weeds!**BG** |
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17 Sep 99 - 05:17 PM (#115076) Subject: RE: Thought for the Day (Sept 16) From: Jack (Who is called Jack) The irony here is this idea that Life on Earth is going to be fine no matter what we do. We can cut down the rainforests, decimate the biodiversity, wipe out the large mammals, the cetaceans, etc, and what we call 'Nature' will not care (forgive the anthopomorphism). Events far more catastrophic to the so-called 'natural balance' have occured throughout geologic time. Life just reshuffles the cards and deals a new game with a new set of players. What were fooling around with is not Nature's balance. Nature doesn't care about balance. Life responds to catastrophe and dramatic change just as easily as it does the steady state. Big meteor wipes out most of the biosphere? No problem. Ice age? (shrug). Nature will not miss the extinct. We on the other hand will. In the end, this current state of nature is what WE rely on four OUR existence. So in the end, even if we are irresponsible, and make our species extinct, and maybe take a good chunk of the current biosphere with us, it will pose no problem for nature. In the geode blink of a geological eye Life will race into the spaces left behind, new species will emerge, old species will assert a new dominance, and our remains will be simply be grown over. It will be as Sandburg wrote, 'I am the grass, let me work', and as it covers us over perhaps it will hum Liza Doolittle's song to Henry Higgins 'I can do without you'. No, nature is not in jeapordy. We are. |