Shouts From Down Under

Grow them, pull them, analyse them. Stories are...weeds?

Fascinating watching.
I think this guy is a genius, and I feel we'll hear more about this type of home research. Low budget, free choice, self funded, fact driven. As opposed to money / grant / sponsor / government / bias - driven.



The never ending cycle of humanity we'd rather ignore, block out; hide it with bamboo and selfish attitudes.

Images
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=new+delhi&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X...

Watch with caution!



Weeds



Deadly Nightshade.

belladonna datura dipenhydramine benadryl black widow femme fatale. jasmine mata hari medicine nerve gas tokyo rose

Have you heard of this weed? I certainly have, especially the last few days. It's overtaking our house yard and garden, mostly along the fence lines and under the large Liquid Amber tree. My wife says they (the weeds) are growing there because the birds sit on the fences, or in the tree, and poop, and the seeds are therefore dropped right there.

Why is it that weed seeds can just be flung on the ground in concentrated poop, that you'd think would just burn the living daylights out of the seed, and then those same seeds produce vigorous growth of the healthiest specimens. If these were vegetables we'd win prizes at the agricultural show. People would ask us about our technique and what we did to get such prolific foliage, such PH balance, so well timed and placed for the season and sun, and other gardening terms that make it sound like I know about gardening, yet I have little idea.

These particular weeds, Deadly Nightshade, are a poison, make no mistake.



This had me thinking deepness thoughts as you do when you're swinging a mattock at the roots (the most poisonous part of these plants) and destroying such a venomous and horrific murder weapon from the Victorian era or whenever it was.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Deadly+Nightshade

A psychoactive plant that has a very thin line between psychoactivity and poisoning. Three berries of a Deadly Nightshade plant has been fatal for a child and one leave is enough is enough to kill an adult. The roots are generally the most toxic part of the plant.

The uses of Deadly Nightshade are as follows:

Cosmetic - Used by women, an extract of Deadly Nightshade was put in an eye drop and then dropped into the eye, making the pupil dilate. This usually makes a woman more attractive.

Recreational - People may make tea out of the leaves, the experience from the plant is usually long (12 hours up to 3 days) and is similiar to Datura, Dipenhydramine and Benadryl in effects. The effects include vivid hallucinations, dry mouth and general feeling of being poisoned.

Medicine - Deadly Nightshade can provide Atropine which can be used for an antidote for cholinesterase inhibitors and nerve gas used in chemical warfare. It can be also used by optometrists to dilate the pupils for eye examinations.
Deadly Nightshade can also be called Belladonna
by Shadow77110 January 09, 2007

*Plus a use not mentioned on that site - Murder.
https://jamesjmurray.wordpress.com/tag/using-deadly-nightshade-for-murder/

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/deadly+nightshade

deadly nightshade
noun
1. a poisonous Eurasian solanaceous plant, Atropa belladonna, having dull purple bell-shaped flowers and small very poisonous black berries

I tried, as writers do, to put myself in the position of these weeds here, because I felt intimidated a bit. These are not just any weeds. These guys can kill. You don't make a mistake and lick your fingers. Not that I would while gardening, or around the chook yard. Or around the dog or cats. It's just not a healthy habit. I think that carefulness comes from years on the farm as a kid. Dad would drum it into us. You wash your hands before eating. Every time. And wash them well. Dry them properly. You don't pat the dog and then have morning tea as in a picnic out in the paddock while dad has a spell from tractor driving. No, you wash them first.

So, thinking of being in the weeds shoes, so to speak, I decided to make a list on my iPhone, of who would be the weeds enemies, and who would be the weeds friends.

Here's that list, plus some extra thoughts.

Best friends of weeds are shadows, walls, procrastination, laziness and pride. Close companions of weeds are hard, barren conditions, little control and no rebuke. Isolation, loneliness, self pity and the appearance of usefulness tag along as well.

Enemies of weeds are vision, attention to detail, vigilance and patience. A bit of anger does their (seed) heads in too. Oh. And chickens. Nothing can hide from chooks. Chooks can be like gossip. They'll destroy everything within the confines of their able boundary. Nothing is safe. Weeds or valuable plants.
But good gardeners are the main enemy of weeds.

A good gardener may not be able to read or write literature of people, but they know the languages of time, seasons, labour, weather, soil, sun, nature, flora, fauna, and the ideal conditions for growth.

No, writing is not all about education, or some sort of privileged skill, or respect of persons.

It would pay us all to remember that. And as I look at videos of the slums, whatever part of the world they are in, and I think about the homeless folks who struggle every day just to survive, then it keeps our own lives in perspective.

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Chickens, or other birds, don't seem to be bothered with the Deadly Nightshade berries, seeds, or leaves. Perhaps they just don't touch them. Well, whatever it is, they had a good time scratching around after those weeds were removed. Almost as if they were thanking me, and treading on the weeds graves.

Chickens also don't mind living in the slums.

Also, in their own way, they are writers too.

We peck at typewriters or keyboards.

They peck at the earth, and enjoy, or reject, the snippets they find. Their form of editing.

Their stamp of approval is usually given without a backward glance, in the colours of green and white.

Sparky



Romeow and Frankenstein. Caught sleeping on our bed yesterday.

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