land ho!: WEEDS

Taraxacum

Let me make the case for "weeds."

One, in particular, that was and is still considered a delicacy in some places, and that many people use medicinally, that has been proven to help heal disease, harmless as air (depending on what air you're breathing) and chock full of nutrition, and so many other benefits, yet some people just can't wait to get out there and destroy them. What does it say about "the person" that makes it a mission to kill something that can ultimately only be beneficial?

Brainwashed? Propagandized?

When I look outside in April and see those little, yellow beauties peeking out from the newly growing grass I just get happy. The perky, sunshiny color, the sheer tenacity -- they seem to delight in just being alive... and then I notice the bees loading up on pollen and nectar and I AM SO, SO HAPPY... AND HOPEFUL. I can't wait to get out there and grab some greens or blossoms or maybe some roots and MAKE SOMETHING USEFUL AND VALUABLE!

I know winter is finally over and I know how exceptionally good dandelions are as a food and a medicine for honeybees and other pollinators and also for humans. They contain so many valuable vitamins and minerals and are so versatile! Every part of the plant is useful! It is just about the PERFECT FOOD AND MEDICINE!

While people through the years have been propagandized and advertised and tricked into believing having a picture perfect "lawn" is a sign of being a "good" gardener or having good taste or high standards, nothing could be further from the truth.

Number one: lawns are BAD for the environment. If short, crop-topped grass was good for the earth, it would cut itself. Period.

Second: The amount of energy, time, money, toxic chemicals, etc. it takes to get a perfectly colored and manicured outdoor carpet is WASTEFUL in every way, shape and form.

Not only is it wasteful, it is HARMFUL to the environment and any living thing in and around it for the most part. Baby bunnies are hidden out there!

Golf courses, for example, are notoriously deadly.

There are legal proceedings going on right now based on scientific studies proving weed killers and the chemicals they contain CAUSE CANCER.

People have been brainwashed to believe the chemicals, tools, machines, etc. are necessary and good when they are, in fact, for the most part, completely unnecessary and there really is nothing good about them except that they make a shit ton of money for chemical companies.

Traces of these toxic chemicals persist in the soil and water supply. Therefore anyone eating food grown in the soil and drinking water from land downstream is affected. These chemicals are shown in studies to negatively affect hormones and immunity, digestion and cause inflammation .and cancer.

Mother nature loves a mess. There is a reason. Diversity makes everything come together so that there is NO NEED to interfere. Diversity is what makes it all work. It makes for a healthy environment.

There is nothing healthy about the way agriculture has evolved into monoculture crops, dependent on chemicals rather than implementing other regenerative, natural methods that work as well or better and actually make the output a hell of a lot healthier for human and animal consumption and that helps to enhance and fortify, rather than deplete the soil.

People have been forced to forget that our IMMUNITY comes from the soil. Healthy soil is not DIRTY, it is LIFE! Natural foods, wild foods and herbs are not pagan magic, witchcraft, primitive quackery. Edible wild plants and herbs are free, effective and nutritious medicine. All the chemicals that KILL bugs and "weeds" are killing our own natural defense system and best nutritional sources.