Invader

    During the winter, when there was snow on the ground, I re-located a section of our trail.  Originally the trail went within about 75 meters of the neighbor’s house, but it was largely obscured by trees.  Last summer, he cut a lot of trees down, around his house, and in the fall, as the other trees and bushes lost their leaves, the neighbor’s house became more and more in view, as we walked the trail.  

    We didn’t really feel comfortable any more in this section of the trail, so I brushed out an alternative trail that was further away from the house.  Since there was snow on the ground when I did it, I didn’t fully know what kind of vegetation was growing along this new section.  

    This spring as the snow all melted, we got to see all the plants and bushes along our new length of trail.  In one small area of the trail, we got a surprise.

    Fifteen or so years ago, a friend offered to dig up a flowering plant that Joan had admired.  As she dug, she noticed that beside the flowering plant. she had given us some smaller leafy plants.  “You probably don’t want those,” she said, “They spread like crazy.”

    Joan told her that she would take them anyway, because there was a lot of empty areas in the flower garden.  Since then, Joan has waged a yearly battle against the leafy invader.  

    This year, as the plants along our trail came up, we were really taken aback to discover a patch of this same invasive leafy plant, (I apologize for not knowing it’s name), growing in one small area in the woods, along our new trail.

    I have no idea how it suddenly arrived in the middle of the woods.  At our place, it is isolated and only grows in the narrow confine of the flower garden that runs between the sidewalk and our house.  It is not in our lawn, or anywhere else I have discovered, and I don’t have a clue how it might have spread to a small isolated area in the woods, where we have never been before.

    I am, of course, assuming that it came from our house, but I really don’t know that for sure.  It might have spread from somewhere else, but the mystery still remains:  How did it get there?

To look at my paintings, go to:  www.davidmarchant.ca