Grow Your Own

 Day 349: Every year, my little avian friends try their beaks at raising a crop of birdseed in my flower beds. The issue is proximity to the feeders. As they scatter seed, some of it inevitably makes its way into the garden, and as casual as I am about weeding, pulling only the most obvious offenders after the first few serious eradications have been performed, something nearly always escapes my watchful eye. In fact, while in the living room yesterday, I noticed a suspicious-looking plant which had come up taller than the window sill, i.e., topping three feet in height. I went out for a closer look and although I'm not positive, it looked to me like a Burdock, and most undesirable. The seed likely had been transported on my boots after a patrol of my Land Trust beat in Ohop Valley where it is prevalent. Hitching a ride is a favorite tactic of invasives. In any event, I uprooted it and then bent to pull some of the "corn" sown by the birds. There, amid other greenery, were several sprays of millet almost at maturity. I am betting that Farmer Jay is keeping a close eye on his crop, anxiously awaiting the day when those tiny seeds are perfect for harvest. Perhaps if I leave them for his enjoyment, he'll leave a few grapes on the vine for me.