Some Call Them Weeds
Ξ March 8th, 2010 | → 14 Comments | ∇ opinions |
The other day I posted a poem that I first read in high school. It has been on my mind a bit since then, mostly because of the one line:
Did you look for a rose
Or just gather a weed?
I can’t stop thinking about the fact that I do, in fact, gather weeds. But not the way the poem makes them out to be negative things. Quite the contrary, I find certain weeds incredibly positive. Specifically dandelions.
Yes, dandelions. I think they are beautiful. Simple and pretty. Yet just because they are hearty and desire to grow anywhere people hate them. If they were fragile and rare, people would lovingly care for them in greenhouses. Instead the dandelion is sprayed with poison and cursed.
When I first bought my little house I did what I thought was the right thing and hired a company to come spread chemicals on my grass in order to make it green and lush. Towards the end of the first year of monthly chemicals my grass was gorgeous. I called the company to make a payment over the phone and I happened to mention to the lady on the phone that my “boys” (boys = dogs) were already out rolling around and playing on the grass. She got very nervous and asked if they were wearing shoes. Of course I could honestly answer no and I was immediately told that I shouldn’t let my children play shoeless on the grass.
Well what the fuck? I can’t put shoes on my dogs. And what about my beloved robins…those happy little hunters who were eating worms right out of my gorgeous grass? Was I accidentally poisoning my dogs and favorite birds? Fuck that. I canceled that company’s services right there on the spot. Keep your fucking chemicals, bring on the brown spots and weeds.
It was a little while after that when I realized that I actually prefer my yard to have dandelions. Dandelions are welcome at my home. They remind me to be tenacious, to bloom wherever the hell I want, regardless of what others think. Some might call dandelions weeds, but I call them flowers. I have a collection of small bud vases and in the summer I will actually pick dandelions from my yard and bring their sunshiney happiness inside, just the way I did as a child, before someone told me they were weeds and pests.
Actually, I have a little of their brightness inside all year long. This watercolor hangs in my kitchen, on the door:
So do me a favor. Next time before you get angry when you see a dandelion in your yard, ask yourself why it bothers you so. Ask yourself what is so wrong with a small flower fighting to survive and show you the color of the sun. Try to see the beauty in the simpleness of the dandelion.
I just ask that you pause to consider beauty in a manner that is slightly nontraditional. After you take that moment, I won’t be terribly upset if you don’t see my sweet little sunshine in the same way I do, but I will truly appreciate that you gave the dandelion a chance.
on March 8th, 2010 at 12:08 AM
You made me smile. Thanks. I saw a few in my yard today, a reminder that spring is coming.
Kim´s last blog ..Expiration date ….
on March 8th, 2010 at 10:48 AM
So, so true.
Sybil Law´s last blog ..Drunken ramblings that amount to nothing.
on March 8th, 2010 at 10:56 AM
That last picture is absolutely gorgeous…
I love dandelions and miss them terribly. When I was kid a I couldn’t understand why people said they were weeds.
This is a lovely reminder, and so true.
Finn´s last blog ..Liar, Liar, My Pants Don’t Feel Tighter
on March 8th, 2010 at 2:11 PM
Ah, but what do you think of crab grass?
Avitable´s last blog ..My weekend in haiku
on March 8th, 2010 at 4:24 PM
We used to make chains out of dandelions, and hold them under our chins to see if we liked butter. Dandelions remind me of being a kid.
Lisa´s last blog ..Musical Fun
on March 8th, 2010 at 7:38 PM
Don’t forget, you get to wish on them when they turn white and puffy! I love dandelions, too. I still can’t think of them as weeds. In addition to being lovely little flowers, they are a very beneficial herb. The dried roots are sold in stores and when made into a tea are a great tonic for the liver. And if you like a little bitter bite to your salad, toss in some dandelion leaves. My dad’s grandmother used to eat the leaves wilted in bacon grease. sounds gross to me, but she lived to, like, a hundred. YAY DANDELIONS!!!
on March 8th, 2010 at 9:39 PM
kim -
dandelions don’t signal spring for me. my favorite day of the year that marks spring’s arrival is when i am on my way too or from the office and there are close to 100 robins all hunting worms in the grass wet from the thawing snow. THAT brings joyful tears to my eyes. every year.
sybil -
i’m so glad you get it! not surprising.
finn -
i totally knew you would understand. love you! although i’m confused as to why you miss them…dandelions don’t grow in southern florida or you treat your yard?
(for the record, all photos except the crappy cell phone image of the watercolor in my kitchen were taken from google images)
avitable -
can my dogs shit or piss on it? then i don’t mind crab grass. keep in mind you are talking to the girl who dumped 17 tons of gravel in her former backyard so that i didn’t have to mow and i didn’t have a mud pit.
lisa -
i totally forgot about braiding dandelions together into chains! thanks for the flashback. love you!
janie -
i love when the dogs run through the yard and the little white puffy dandelions make it look like it is snowing. always makes me kinda giggle.
personally, i don’t like dandelion wine or putting the leaves in salad. while i can appreciate that others may like it, i’d rather just look at my pretty hardy flowers instead of eaten em.
on March 8th, 2010 at 10:03 PM
I agree about eating ‘em. I never tried the wine, but I’ve tried the leaves and the root and both are too bitter for my taste. I just love the idea that those pretty little darlings are good for you, too. I miss them, too. No, they don’t grow in Florida.
on March 8th, 2010 at 11:54 PM
What an absolutely beautiful post, hon. And you’re so right. We’re so busy looking at the beauty in the rare, that we forget about the beauty in the not-so-rare. Thanks, darlin’.
Coal Miner’s Granddaughter´s last blog ..Dorks Unite! (Part Deux)
on March 11th, 2010 at 11:45 PM
janie -
back in the drunk childhood days the security guard at the cemetery where we used to drink brought me homemade dandelion wine. to this day i swear the shrub i dumped it on died quickly. that stuff was worse than rubbing alcohol. to this day i can’t even consider eating or drinking dandelion anything. sure do love looking at em, though!
(also, you might not wanna look at tomorrow’s post. just a friendly thought.)
coal minder’s gd -
you so don’t forget to see the beauty in the every day. you of all people get it.
on March 14th, 2010 at 11:54 AM
Great post. I usually leave the dandelions and cut out the ugly broadleaves.
martymankins´s last blog ..Remembering the 2010 Oscars
on March 19th, 2010 at 6:44 PM
I love dandelions and I LOVE that last picture. Beautiful!
Tiffany´s last blog ..datastream
on March 25th, 2010 at 10:18 AM
I always liked dandilions, too. Now when my kids see them (rare) on trips to visit family, mostly, I tell them about the magic that is this flower. How first they brighten our day with their sunshine on earth, and then they give us the chance to make a wish and send it out into the universe. It made me happy to see someone else who loves them. (Sometimes I think there is something really special about growing up in Pittsburgh.)
Allyson´s last blog ..What Makes a House a Home?
on May 28th, 2010 at 9:47 PM
I love the photo at the end of this post, simply amazing!