Work Day

The tumbleweed lay against the solid comforting weight of the wheelbarrow after a long season of tumbling. No more roads or fields could be traveled, for here the two met at an impasse. The wheelbarrow was wedged tightly against a mound of dirt, its flattened wheel in a ditch. And the tumbleweed had run out of room to roam. The winds had long ago torn it from the ground and tossed it up hills and down again, always finding a way to traverse the wild open spaces, but the open spaces had ended with this corner. As the air leaked out of the wheelbarrow’s wheel, the moisture escaped the stems and thorns of the tumbleweed, making travel for both a memory.

So together they sat, side by side. In the rain and the sun, in the rust and the drying out. When the winds came they two made music together, percussive sounds that hinted at the past competence of both. For one it was the ability to carry heavy loads and dump with ease that was remembered. For the other, past growth and soils claimed was cherished, along with the exhilarating freedom of wild exploration.

Then there came a day known as the “Work Day”. The sound of tramping heavy boots and shovels scraping soil and rock stirred both tumbleweed and wheelbarrow. Something new was in the air and it’s name was Purpose! Air breathed strength into the tire, and the wheelbarrow was lifted once again, ready to contain and dump, to carry and roll. The tumbleweed could only watch as, alas, it rose up one last time into the air, feeling the refreshing breeze flow through its tangled mass, and then…the ultimate let down. The tumbleweed was dumped into the wheelbarrow and carted off to the rubbish pile.

Today was a work day, a spring cleaning day. As much as tumbleweeds are admired from afar, when you’ve got close to twenty lying in your back field, it is seriously time to clean up a bit. Dear tumbleweed, although you’ve left your comfort spot, I thank you for lending me your story and keeping my barrow company while he lay idle. I’m sure I’ll see many of your offspring in the months to come.

Please come back tomorrow for a new “Weed Image of the Day” and let me know which ones you like.

We and our weeds are so much more than what we first appear to be.

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