Weeds, I’m afraid, have gotten creative in Central Illinois.
It’s been ages since we’ve had significant rain — the figure that sticks in my mind is less than an inch in the past 30 days, combined with temps in the 90s. We’re not as bad off as Texas and Oklahoma, but a drought is a drought.
Just this week the national Drought Monitor upgraded most of Illinois (except the Chicago area) from “moderate” to “severe” drought status.
No kidding. When everybody’s yard looks like this:
Dried-out lawn
Well, that looks like a drought to me!
Some cities have taken to voluntary or mandatory conservation. Stream and lake levels are low, crops are beginning to suffer. The rains that flirt with our area seem to fizzle or produce just a few drops before moving on.
So our weeds are showing up in the most unlikely of places.
Like in between bricks:
weed in bricks
and in driveways:
driveway weeds
and on sidewalks:
sidewalk weeds
alongside fences:
climbing weed on fence
in between landscaping rocks:
weed in rocks
and even in the streets:
street weeds
The weather casters keep promising us rain. They can promise all they want; they don’t control the weather. But it could be worse — too much rain, in the form of hurricanes, is just as devastating as too little.
Meanwhile, the weeds don’t seem to care. They’re invincible, tenacious, and ever-present. As Dave Barry has said: Crabgrass can grow on bowling balls in airless rooms, and there is no known way to kill it that does not involve nuclear weapons.
Are you being a persistent weed today?
Musings by an ND Domer's Mom 
Oh My Gosh, Debbie~ what a wonderful metaphor for how we have to be-wild and tenacious as the weeds. I wish we could share our Northeastern water world with you. Thanks to Irene and whoever else is lurking close behind,we are surrounded by lush greenery and also full of weeds. For a weed, extremes either way seem to be an invitation to take over. Wishing you some blessed rain showers soon while I hope for a few dry, sunny days here.
We’d be glad to take some of that rain off your hands, Kathy! For a while, it looked as if we might get some from Lee, the tropical system that’s battering New Orleans, but they seem to think that’s going your way, too. It’s rather like hair, isn’t it — if you have curly hair, you want it to be straight. If you have rain, you want sunshine. Here’s to some moderation on the weather front!
I loved the metaphor as well….We pull constantly and I actually hire someone off craigslist to keep pull them about every other week–My campers will eat them I don’t and since Cole helps out in so many other ways weed pulling is not on his list.
Seems to me we should be trucking water from places that have to much to places that have to little…this might also help to put a few people to work! If I’m not mistaken today is a cooler day for you….I hope so!
Cooler? Oh, yeah, w-a-a-y cooler! What a relief, too! You might be onto something about trucking water to and from while putting people to work. Does my memory of History class escape me, or didn’t they do something like that back in the depression era??
Those weeds can be annoying, but I guess when it boils down to it, you have to admire their tenacity!
Hope the weather mellows out for you soon!
Hi Terri, yes, this morning is almost chilly — in the 50s with a stiff north wind. It looks like our heat/humidity might have finally broken. Hope all’s well at your house and that Kacey is settling in!
Well, I don’t think I’m being a persistent weed…however, my husband may disagree with that statement 😉
I like the Dave Barry quote about weeds. My hubby’s been waging that battle for weeks now. Everything else is shriveled up from the heat, but those weeds are healthy as ever. Oh, they were…until hubby doused them in chemicals last week.
I imagine the chemicals will do the trick, Janna. It’s hard for anything to survive heat, drought, and chemicals! Isn’t it odd how all the “good” stuff is the first to die off, yet weeds and things we don’t want (like trees growing in unexpected places, thanks to the birds dropping seeds everywhere) flourish?!
I really hope you get the much needed rain. It’s raining here in the northeast and will be raining most of the week. We just finished mopping up the basement and drying it out.
When it doesn’t rain….all the brown grass is depressing and dangerous…the fires.
But the weeds……when it comes to sharing Christ…I want to be like those weeds……but sometimes it’s like someone sprays some weed killer on me LOL……but you know those weeds even come back from that!! Weeds….
Great blog!!
Hi Tanya, good hearing from you! I’m glad you survived the earthquake and Irene; now be safe when Lee turns your way! We got a few drops of rain — not near what we needed but at least the heat finally seems to have broken! It was 45 this morning.
Too bad our flowers can’t thrive in drought conditions like weeds.
Our vegetables, too! Our poor garden is just about ready to be yanked up; good thing we weren’t counting on a surplus crop!