It is an amazing early spring day at my house. The word “soft” keeps coming to mind…soft white clouds billow in the soft blue sky while a soft, gentle breeze caresses my body. But what I am doing is anything but soft. I am fighting back the dark force that all gardeners face. I am pulling weeds.
Not just ordinary weeds, mind you, but weeds from the very mouth of hell. We have three particularly devilish weeds in this area. I’m not sure of their “correct” names. One we call “crabgrass” because it sends it’s “legs” sprawling along above and below the surface of the ground. Its roots go deep and mighty effort is used to pull it up.
The second weed is called “choke weed”. It is a pretty vine with attractive little flowers that will literally choke the very life out of any plant it can get close to. It winds itself like a boa constrictor around and around and around. If allowed to grow to that point you must sacrifice the plant as well as the weed. It is impossible to pull them apart.
Our third hellish weed is the “goat head” plant. These are small plants that grow very close to the ground. One small plant can produce a few dozen seeds which blow to new spots and propagate like rabbits. These seeds are hard and spiky. You sure know when you step on one. They are vicious and evil and must be destroyed!!! They are also very tough and hard to kill.
Over the past few years, our personal war has seen victory to our side concerning choke weed and goat heads. We have greatly reduced their numbers and can get on top of the battle each year by catching them early. The crabgrass, however, is a different story. A great deal of our acreage is crabgrass so every time I dig a new garden bed, IT IS ON!! I pull and pull and pull. Sometimes I mutter bad words. At times I swear that the end of the root must be on the other side of the world. My husband walks by, shakes his head and gives me his two cents worth of advice. It is always the same. “You’ll never get rid of it, you know.”
But he is wrong!! Each year that passes finds less and less of the intruder in my already existing flower beds. As a matter of fact, I can tell where I gave up last year. There is a huge difference from the side I weeded to the side I didn’t. I am winning! It might be slow but it is very sure. This is what I remind myself of as I pull and pull and pull in my first time garden beds. These too will show progress next year. The battle is never ending but progress is being made.
So many in today’s world have “weeds” that seem to choke out the very thought of happiness. There are “weeds” of grief, despair, loneliness, addictions, poverty, disease, and so much more. Whatever the dark weed is in your life, just keep trying to pull it out. Pull and pull and pull, mutter bad words, pray for help, do whatever you need to except give up! As each year passes you will see that controlling the weed is getting easier. You will see the progress you have made just like in my flower beds. Churchill Winston once said, “Never, never, never give up.” You will be the winner in the end. I promise! That’s the view from my side of the street, what’s yours?
Not just ordinary weeds, mind you, but weeds from the very mouth of hell. We have three particularly devilish weeds in this area. I’m not sure of their “correct” names. One we call “crabgrass” because it sends it’s “legs” sprawling along above and below the surface of the ground. Its roots go deep and mighty effort is used to pull it up.
The second weed is called “choke weed”. It is a pretty vine with attractive little flowers that will literally choke the very life out of any plant it can get close to. It winds itself like a boa constrictor around and around and around. If allowed to grow to that point you must sacrifice the plant as well as the weed. It is impossible to pull them apart.
Our third hellish weed is the “goat head” plant. These are small plants that grow very close to the ground. One small plant can produce a few dozen seeds which blow to new spots and propagate like rabbits. These seeds are hard and spiky. You sure know when you step on one. They are vicious and evil and must be destroyed!!! They are also very tough and hard to kill.
Over the past few years, our personal war has seen victory to our side concerning choke weed and goat heads. We have greatly reduced their numbers and can get on top of the battle each year by catching them early. The crabgrass, however, is a different story. A great deal of our acreage is crabgrass so every time I dig a new garden bed, IT IS ON!! I pull and pull and pull. Sometimes I mutter bad words. At times I swear that the end of the root must be on the other side of the world. My husband walks by, shakes his head and gives me his two cents worth of advice. It is always the same. “You’ll never get rid of it, you know.”
But he is wrong!! Each year that passes finds less and less of the intruder in my already existing flower beds. As a matter of fact, I can tell where I gave up last year. There is a huge difference from the side I weeded to the side I didn’t. I am winning! It might be slow but it is very sure. This is what I remind myself of as I pull and pull and pull in my first time garden beds. These too will show progress next year. The battle is never ending but progress is being made.
So many in today’s world have “weeds” that seem to choke out the very thought of happiness. There are “weeds” of grief, despair, loneliness, addictions, poverty, disease, and so much more. Whatever the dark weed is in your life, just keep trying to pull it out. Pull and pull and pull, mutter bad words, pray for help, do whatever you need to except give up! As each year passes you will see that controlling the weed is getting easier. You will see the progress you have made just like in my flower beds. Churchill Winston once said, “Never, never, never give up.” You will be the winner in the end. I promise! That’s the view from my side of the street, what’s yours?
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