Aug 20 2022 - Let the Crabgrass

 

Do you wonder about crabgrass?  I decided to check on whether it is an annual as it comes up in late July and isn't there when spring comes around.  Yes - it is named after crabs with its long grass legs. And I find this wonderfully entertaining introduction to it in a blog: "Americans did two interesting things when they moved from the farm to suburbia: They surrounded their homes with toxic ornamentals and attacked edible plants as if they were life threatening. While we try to get rid of  crabgrass in America in parts of Africa crabgrass (fonio) is a staple grain, and as forage it can produce a whopping 17 tons per acre. Crabgrass seed can be used as a flour, couscous or as a grain, such as in porridge or fermented for use in beer making...  Stone Age dwellers in Switzerland cultivated crabgrass and it was important food crop in China by 2700 B.C. It’s a traditional food in India and Africa." Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, and Hungarians called it kasha/kasza.  That means you can use the baking soda to kill the crabgrass or as an ingredient in crabgrass/kasha muffins.  So go into your health food store today and buy some kasha.  Well, it is buckwheat actually.    There's more HERE.  Crabgrass as a story  doesn't end there - it reaches into the fantasy world of  fandom:  "Henry Crabgrass was a patch of crabgrass near Mollymauk Tealeaf's grave, who temporarily achieved sentience when Jester talked to them using Speak With Plants through the Charm of Plant Command. They were a cluster of crabgrass roots that encompassed a hive crabgrass mind."  Henry became the advocate for getting consent - no means no.  You can read about it HERE in critical roles.

I have a lot of pictures of corn - I take them in November when the wind is blowing fiercely and the motion blur makes beautiful abstracts.  But instead our picture is a comparison of the end stop of bicycles in Toronto vs. Niagara.  I think this might explain why the traffic on the QEW is heading towards Niagara every Saturday.   But remember, beautiful lush greenery also means crabgrass at one's feet. Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca