The menace to manicured lawns is back. Huge patches of them
everywhere; carpets of yellow now turning fluffy white so they can broadcast their
seed to reproduce millions more of their own.
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| Nature as it wants to be |
The dandelion is a barbarian weed intent on savaging the coiffed
look of our suburbias. They take over our carefully clipped grassy areas,
setting down deep roots that support broad leaves to deprive grass and flowers
of space and nutrients. Government bans of certain chemicals have taken away
our best weapons for killing them.
Dandelions are more than a menace, however. They are
reminder that we humans still have much difficulty accepting nature as it is.
We persist in trying to control it, and in reshaping it to our liking. We cut trees
and bulldoze wide open spaces to separate and keep us safe from the perceived dangers of
the dark woods. Then we plant little ornamental trees and bushes more to our
liking.
Nature tries to resist our changes, but in the short term we
are too powerful. We should not forget, however, that over the long run nature
always wins. Nature is patient and resilient and will be healing its wounds and
reshaping itself long after we have gone.
The dandelion is a reminder that we need to condition
ourselves to accept nature as it is.
(Note: Stories of weird things in the dark woods can be
found in Lights in Dark Forests, an e-book available in various
electronic formats at Amazon or Smashwords.com.)
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