FRIEND OR FOE

I guess that depends entirely upon how you look at it.

See how pretty the blue Iris and yellow buttercups and dandelions are with the orange Hawkweed?

In the early 1990's I took Amtrack from my home in Bellingham, WA to Duluth, MN, where my daughter's Sailor husband was stationed. I was there for their oldest son's high school graduation and had a wonderful time exploring the local plants and trees.

The pretty orange flower/weed I am posting was growing all over the front yard and since I had never seen in here in Bellingham, I had to dig some up and bring it home. I later read that it is called Hawkweed.

Wikipeda says Hawkweed is a slang name taken from folklore which says that Hawks would chew on it to improve their sight. Maybe it did.

Just look how beautiful it is. And it has a delightful fragrance too. I haven't noticed that it is invasive here. It has been growing for 16 years and the small patch you see in the first photo is all there is.

I have often wondered just who decides what is a weed and what is a flower. I have found that if we look closely at any plantlife, we will see a fascinating creation and always there is beauty in it. And if we get our nose close enough, we many times discover a fragrance we never expected.

So the next time you are out walking, take time to look closer at some of the 'weeds'. Check out the dandelions and buttercups, sniff the clovers and discover a little more about our Lord's wonderful creation.

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