All I have to do is take a photo of a plant and an app called PictureThis tells me all about it. Over the past few years I’ve learned so much about what grows in our yard. Most are considered weeds but I’ve always taken issue with that. So often these weeds have beautiful flowers that attract pollinators, have substantial root systems that combat erosion and flooding, and just grow in all situations where so many other plants can’t hack it.
We’ve been noticing how many bumblebees are attracted to a purple flower that grows by the deck. I used the app and found out it is Ohio Spiderwort. I love all of the random facts I’ve learned about it: the flowers are edible, the leaves can help soothe insect bites like aloe, and if irradiated the flowers turn pink (eep!)
Today’s reading
Poem: Chicken for Breakfast by Kazim Ali 2025?
Essay: Southern Culture on the Skids by Ben Austen 2010
Short Story: Manjar dos Deuses by Anna Martino 2022
Part of this reading challenge is to read about things I know nothing about and normally wouldn’t seek out. So the essay about NASCAR was enlightening! The thing that surprised me was how big some of the crowds are (100k+), even though they’re declining. Can’t say it’s anything I want to see after learning more, but it was an interesting slice of life.
The short story I found in Clarkesworld, a sci-fi magazine I stumbled across a few years ago. I should pick it up more often. The story was about food and memory and love and loss.
The poems are always challenging. I feel like I need to read them multiple times to see if I get it. This one opened with:
“A book led me to the particular performance of the cello suite”
Which felt nice to think about all the things books have led me to.
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