I Miss the Weeds

The big field on Mill Creek Road that was recently mowed to accommodate campers at the High Sierra Music fest is now vacant and cleaned up. No evidence of having been a full campground a couple of days ago. Also, no evidence of the wonderful array of weeds and bugs that had been accumulating there ever since the snow melted. The chicory pictured here was among the prettiest. Every spring I have enjoyed watching the emergence of one species after another of colorful wildflowers along the road here. The Cinquefoil, a bright yellow member of the rose family, are among the first to arrive. Then the Salsify and Ox-Eye Daisies, and now the Mule's Ears and Chicory. These are among the larger, colorful ones that can be enjoyed from a passing car. Walking among the larger species, one can discover smaller ones, best appreciated with a hand lens or enlarged on a computer screen: the Spanish Clover, Henbit Dead Nettle, Sorrel, the several milkweeds, and so on. The flowers attract a great variety of colorful insects. Bees, of course, but also some beautiful beetles and spiders.
So, on this morning of being a bit startled by the sudden emptiness of these fields, I picked up a copy of "Noxious Weeds of Northeastern California" and paged through it, equally startled at the war-like language used to describe some of the most beautiful plants on the planet. Hate the thistles if you will but remember the artichoke is one. So is lettuce. Hate the Star Thistle, a Centaurea, but remember, the Bachelors Button is a Centaurea. Every plant we call a weed is a non-weed somewhere else. It is mostly human activities that break the soil that turn some plants into weeds. A road bed or railroad track bed or logging are to the Earth like cuts on your skin. Our skin is always covered with bacteria, but when we cut the skin we pave the way for them to invade our insides. Cutting into the soil upsets the natural balance of vegetation and paves the way for "invasive" species to take advantage. I'll admit that some weeds can be an economic threat under some conditions and perhaps should be eliminated from some areas. However, the beauty of many weed species tempers my feelings. Many weeds are edible, although perhaps not as tasty to us as their cultivated descendants. Also, when I weigh weed problems against the herbicide problem, the problem of over-development, and the warped aesthetic that results from an indoor, technology-dependent lifestyle, I end up defending the weeds. So, put a little chicory in your coffee and have a nice day.