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Thursday, August 23, 2007

Thursday's Exercise


Kudzu landscape

This morning I walked 62 minutes and ran 26 minutes. If one was watching me exercise they might say I made a feeble attempt to walk 88 minutes.

There is a teenager that lives two blocks from here that rides the bus. He is a tall gawky kid. I think he is probably 16 or 17 years of age and well over 6 ft tall. I have walked by him a number of times and he has yet looked up at me. He is always looking down. I think that is his regular demeanor – like he feels constantly intimidated. I would not be surprised to learn that he is picked on in high school.

In fact, maybe Willow would like to join the gang and pick on him too. We walked by him and Willow growled, which is very unlike her to growl at any being, animal or human. Even, when we got by him she looked back and gave a kind of under her breath bark, like a disapproving sound.

I think it is possible that Willow picked up something very negative about the guy.

We didn’t see him this morning because he were going by his stop earlier than usual to beat the heat.

However, a mile or so way, was a another bully target waiting on the bus. He was a scrawny little guy that looked very nerdy and studious. He was blankly looking into space, while, across the street was a heavy-set egomaniac teenage boy pacing back and forth with a sneer on his face looking at the kid, like he could not wait to get his hands on him and bully him some more. He reminded me of Mike Fink, the Keel Boat Captain and/or the bully-guy in the movie “Back To The Future”. I hate to profile, but big bullies with ego problems just act too much alike.

Then an unusual thing happened. An Indian teenager (Far Eastern) walked up to the bully and laughed about something and talked smoothly to each other. Apparently the Indian kid and the bully had some things in common and seemed to appreciate each other.

Wait! This goes against my profiling rules. The Indian (Far Eastern) kid is suppose to be standing, non-smiling, across the street by the nerdy kid, looking into space.

Is the whole world going mad?

I remember our biology teach in college telling us the sequence of events of when England declared Australia their colony and had British troops stationed there an Officer’s wife brought a cactus to plant in her new back yard. There was not natural enemy of the cactus, so it grew too much. To halt its growth, the British brought in rabbits to eat the cacti. Guess what, the rabbits had no natural enemy in Australia so the rabbit population got out of hand. So, then the Brits imported a certain kind of snakes that loved to eat rabbits… and guess what? You know.

Which brings me to mind my walk and run this morning. Not long ago, on long roads much of the countryside was overtaken by the running vine plant Kudzu. I think I read that Kudzu can grow a over a foot a day in the summer. Sometimes it is not unusual to see trees and deserted lost in Kudzu – it has sort of a surrealist look… piles of kudzu in shapes of houses, barns, and trees.

Kudzu was imported from Japan. It was imported to help prevent soil erosion. Guess what, it has no natural enemy. It overtook the south.

Now, a natural enemy to Kudzu has arrived. Unfortunately, it also the natural enemy to other natural forms of wildlife: The McMansion.

11 comments:

  1. Wisteria will also eat a landscape. There used to be a huge area of wisteria about 25 feet high in the edge of woods near here. The property sold, the area was bulldozed and under the wisteria was a log house, perfectly preserved.

    The house was moved and pines planted. Now the wisteria is trying to return. I hack at my wisteria almost daily.

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  2. Jean,
    Funny you should mention that. I hack wisteria almost daily also. And also, try to dig up its running roots. It seems the more I cut the more it grows. It is all intertwined in our chain link fence in the back yard.
    I wish I could train it to self-weave it own baskets.

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  3. Anonymous4:54 PM

    congrats on your walk/run. can't say i've done much myself this week!

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  4. Bird,
    This is your busy time!

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  5. That picture of kudzuscape almost makes kudzu appear attractive........almost.

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  6. Anonymous1:06 AM

    I remember being a teenager looking at my feet. No, wait, I was overweight, so i couldnt see my feet.

    I have a friend at work who had a family dog. He was big, happy and fluffy. One day, one of the kids came from school- a very deeply troubled kid- and knocked on her door----the dog went nuts growling and barking. Something weird was up.....maybe Willow knows something you dont.

    Keep up the good work on your exercise

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  7. Button,
    Kudzu has an attaching quality, doesn't it? Attaching? yuk yuk, get it? I got more! stick around, yuk yuk.

    Steve,
    Yes, I am positive animals see things us humans don't. They know when to head for high ground and all that. I'm trying to teach Willow to give me some stock market forecasts.

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  8. Anonymous3:24 AM

    ed-
    if willow gets to picking horses, letme in on the deal!

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  9. Bird,
    Willow knows all and sees all. Oh, I'm sure she can pick horses, but whether she shares her information or not is the question.

    And, back to the kudzu: It kind of grows on you, doesn't it?
    (see, i told you I have a million of'em!)

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  10. I wish I could train it to self-weave it own baskets.

    niiice! lol! And you'd be Rich! in no time!

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  11. Michael,
    Although one vine would be weaving a basket for me to see, another vine would be pickpocketing me.

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