 |
| photo by Jonathan Schechter August/2011 I am not certain what laws I broke, but I am rather certain I am a law-breaking naturalist. This image is at the end of my driveway and the wildflowers are growing in the right of the way of my dirt road in northern Oakland County. Up until two years that right of way was mostly dirt and stubble and grasses that were planted by the county to stablize soil along the shoulder. One or two times a year a tractor came by to cut back any roadside growth to keep a clear view. Late October 2009: I went to the roadside and "took cryptic measures of trespass" late one night to remove the bit of green that was growing. I waited three weeks. Then it was time to hand sow a mix of hardy wildflower seeds a few days before the first snow fall. Nature did the rest. Almost two years have passed: A few weeks after I took this picture of a doe sampling summer flowers, a county tractor worked its way slowly down my road with the blade streched out cutting back any plant growth. When it reached my small patch of law-breaking beauty it stopped. I watched unobserved from my porch. The blade was lifted and he drove on, lowering it again a few hundred feet down the road. I was happy that he sensed what I saw--natural beauty (created by an unsanctioned act). Yesterday a neighbor asked me how I make the flowers grow. I see a trend. A good trend. He will be my co-conspirator in an expanding operation: "Seeds gone wild" My trespass shall expand later this fall just before the snows of November. I ordered more seed today. |
Pages
▼
Three cheers for you AND the county mower driver. I'll bet he's a pheasant hunter! ;) Tall grass and wildflowers makes great habitat for upland birds and even waterfowl, some of which nest more than a mile from any body of water. And, as you have found, even the deer and neighbors like it. Beats a mowed shoulder any day. tp
ReplyDeleteIf the authorities get you and put you behind bars for your "unsanctioned act", I am sure you have enough followers that we can get you out on bail quickly. I also have a personal friend who is a great judge! LOL! Seriously, keep up the good work! The picture is priceless! KW
ReplyDeleteIf more people did this it would be a better world.
ReplyDeleteThese helpful acts of trespass and seed spreading on roadsides are spreading and more than a few local govts and state agencies now do the same. We do not need a monoculture of closely cropped grass. Thanks all for your comments!
ReplyDelete