It took less than an afternoon to fill four ~30-gallon trash cans with thistles and vines that were not here a month ago, and there are plenty more in my tiny yard. The only reason I stopped pulling them out of the ground is because I ran out of containers (SO GLAD to run out of containers, by the way). I don't hate weeding, really, because I never do much of it and whenever I do I am astounded by the sheer bulk of the plant life that springs up unbidden. And I have to think, then, of the carbon cycle. That's always good for a bit of sunny musing.

And finally, I come around (I always do) to the unforgettable book by Yi-Fu Tuan, Dominance and Affection: The Making of Pets. I thought I had written about this book in the past, but maybe it wasn't on Livejournal. I do not suggest searching for "dominance and affection"+"livejournal" unless you're looking for something very different from a review of a book by a psychological geographer.

The book describes how history reflects a human tendency to control our environment through dominating not only other humans but animals, plants, and even more elemental structures. Read it and you will never look at a fountain the same way again.