Sunday, August 12, 2012

Grasses in Summer

 On my way to work every morning I can't help but notice the grasses dancing with the wind. How do they transform the sunshine into the shimmering highlights that capture my gaze?

Grasses have been around since the age of dinosaurs, and humans have shaped them into some of our most common sources of nutrition. Where would we be without wheat, rye, rice, corn, and bamboo? We love our lawns, but my main interest is in grasses that are native to this area of Texas. 

Our roadside grasses are a mix of introduced and native species because of many popular species used for lawns and pastures. This month, the grasses are so compelling to me because the delicate fibers of their reproductive structures sparkle.


Walt Whitman said: I believe a leaf of grass is no less  than the journey work of the stars, And the ant is equally perfect,  and a grain of sand,  and the egg of the wren, And the tree-toad is a chef-d'oeuvre for the highest, And the running blackberry would adorn the parlors of heaven, And the narrowest hinge in my hand  puts to scorn all machinery, And the cow crunching with depress'd head  surpasses any statue, And a mouse is miracle enough  to stagger sextillions of infidels.














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