They
were pulling up the plastic row bedding across the street today. A stiff breeze
from the south helped lift the edges, sending the released length of black
billowing into the air, bits of fastened soil and plant material splaying in
all directions.
Beneath
lay the rounded rows of dark moist soil, interspersed with the remnant stalks
of harvested plants. For a moment, we thought of the spring, when these rows
were newly made, and the soil was richly brown and unmolested with weeds.
Between
the rows is another thing altogether, filled with a mixture of drying ragweed,
lamb’s quarters, shepherd’s purse, and pigweed – the summer annuals that all
compete for this field, this light, soil and nutrients. Pepperweed and mustard
also thrive, yet the recent frosts have taken their toll.
A few
remain unaffected, seemingly content to grow in this late season. In the
two-track edges there is henbit flourishing, low to the ground, with terminal
leaves that bear small, purple flowers that resemble miniature snap dragons.
These henbits are of the mint family, though their leaves offer to associative
odor when crushed.
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