If I were in Shadow Valley right now, I think I would likely still be working on this blog, but perhaps I would have access to a newer computer. Maybe one with keys that didn’t ‘stick’ or fail to register what was typed until the key had been struck five times harder than really needed…!
Grrrr!
But anyway, my typing issues aside, tonight has been quiet. I have been thinking about my non fiction piece, you know– the one about the ‘weeds’, and I wonder what would happen if I wrote it from the perspective of a young plant in the garden, just learning about their world. I know, that would change it from non-fiction into fiction, because most people believe that plants are somehow less alive because they ‘are not self-aware’, but that plants understand animals is an idea that would be a hard sell for many to accept. Not to mention the fact that it could be a bit… difficult to convey the feeling I would wish to.
So, perhaps that story should be fiction, maybe even a different book. But, if that’s the case, then it should be about a place that is populated with the same types of plants that are currently in my garden, and written with a eye toward convincing people that no plant is truly a ‘weed’– i.e. a plant that is without use.
All plants have uses to humanity, as well as to other animals; it simply is a case of finding the appropriate uses. Even the most noxious weeds can be eaten by something; it is often simply a matter of finding the creature that thrives on the weed that is most abundant in your area and relocating it to the habitat of that creature.
Though I will admit, Puncturevine– aka Goatheads– would be a difficult one to find anything that would eat it, except possibly birds. The spines and hard casing on the seeds was developed to protect the vulnerable seed, the same way the thorns on a rose were developed to keep the stems safe long enough for the flowers to bloom, or the thorns on most Blackberry vines were developed to keep the plants safe long enough for the berries to ripen.
But those are only a few examples, and my time here is short, so I should get back to my research, so I can begin writing the non-fiction book and begin working on the fiction one as well. Yes, writers get idea all the time. The good ones even hang around until you find the time to write them down, or record them in some other way.
And I am beginning to be noticed, so that is a good thing, I suppose. Thank you to those who have offered feedback, whether it was positive or negative.
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