"The concrete highway was edged with a mat of tangled, broken, dry grass, and the grass heads were heavy with oat beards to catch on a dog's coat, and foxtails to tangle in a horse's fetlocks, and clover burrs to fasten in sheep's wool; sleeping life waiting to be spread and dispersed, every seed armed with an appliance of dispersal, twisting darts and parachutes for the wind, little spears and balls of tiny thorns, and all waiting for animals and for the wind, for a man' trouser cuff or the hem of a woman's skirt, all passive but armed with appliances of activity, still, but each possessed of the anlage of movement."Wow! What a great passage from this book!
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.
I enjoy Steinbeck's writing so much. The descriptions of common things just jump off the page and conjure up images that you can relate to as you are drawn into the story.
I thought about this quote when we were out taking a walk the other evening. The weeds with their stickers are just about everywhere. Our Labrador's nose was covered in sticker burrs from the sides of the trail.
The purple thistles are actually quite pretty with a mixture of purple flowers and white fairy duster seeds.
Even the dried flowers are pretty.
Have you seen some stickers and burrs in your neighborhood? Take a closer look to see how those seeds are dispersed.....point some out to your children on your next walk.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom
We used to have a long-haired dog who would come in COVERED in prickly burrs after a walk in the woods! Now we have short-haired dogs so it's not so much of a problem. The KIDS, on the other hand...
ReplyDeleteYes, after a walk we normally check our shoes for mess, but sometimes we find seeds. Same counts for our bicycles, they carry seeds and so (hopefully) does our car. We brought back a few very large pine cones from Italy. Now they burst open. We have put them outside so the seeds can be carried by the wind, shoes, tires and playfully kids to new places.
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