Wednesday, May 11, 2016

"A bone of our forebears"

Anyone who has fought and conquered an invasive weed ought to have a medal.  Through dogged perseverance my mom has bested cockleburs, ragweed, and pigweed in her garden.  My hat is off to her.  I haven't been quite as victorious in my fight against the poison ivy, the honeysuckle, the privet, and the Bermuda grass. 
Boy, have we fought the Bermuda grass!  My son and I have dug bushels of the roots.  Once when he was quite a bit younger, we were digging up Bermuda grass in the mixed border.  (Well, "mixed border" is really a highfalutin thing to call the mess I've got.  I had one neighbor who referred to it as my "rough area."  I do have aspirations (possibly delusions), so I rarely refer to it as my "rough area."  I usually just say "mulched area.")  We came across a bone.  I surmised it could have been a bone buried by a dog or perhaps it was in the mulch we brought in (shredded yard waste from the landfill).  I asked my son if he thought it was an animal bone or a "people bone."  His response said it all.
"It's a bone of our forebears who died fighting Bermuda grass."

4 comments:

  1. I have never been much of a 'grass' person. If it was green, I considered it grass and mowed it. Not sure is Bermuda Grass is what mama called 'wire grass', but if it is, Florida has a strain of it and they are very proud of it. It makes about a 4" thick grass and it feels like you are walking on a soft mattress. I do not like it.

    You had to remind me, it is about time to mow my clover.Love form the banks of the Catawba.

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    1. Yes, Bermuda grass is also known as wire grass. The cultivated varieties are used on golf courses and in Southern lawns. The "common" variety that we have in our flower beds is a real pain in the neck.

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  2. We washed our car once after returning from the beach and now have sand Spurs in our back yard. They are highly invasive. When the summer grass takes hold it chokes the sand Spurs out, but they come back the following spring. They are a literal pain.

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    1. Ouch! I am so glad I don't have sand spurs. I am familiar with them, though. We had a smaller type in the sandy soil of the school playground which were plenty bad, but I've also encountered the larger, wicked ones at the beach. It's amazing how opportunistic invasive plants can be--just ride a car back from the beach.

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