Fussing around outside is one of the things that make retirement enjoyable. Depending on the weather, spending some time each morning and afternoon in the yard and garden. Gardening is not a real description of what gets done, fussing around is better. And it is one of my religious experiences, an epiphany.

And the message frequently is the persistence of life. Another word for weeds. See my Spring post and Neuton mower. Any time there is an available little patch, something grows in it. 99% of the time it is not something that belongs there – a weed. There are a couple of these &^%($ things that are particularly persistent. Like what I call wiregrass. It puts out rootlets that spread underground. Like under the geraniums, under the hardware cloth, under the rocks in the driveway, under everything where you can not attack it vigorously. And it does this on purpose. Because it hates me. And is tougher and meaner than I am.

Scientific American and National Geographic every so often have articles on difficult places where life comes up, or comes from. Volcanic vents in the ocean, Death Valley, Antarctica, Mars. Life is truly persistent.

And when the real threats to humanity, the possibility of eliminating 90 % of all of the species on Earth (which has happened before several times) or to even eliminate the whole planet, come from Mother Nature, will humanity persist? Are we the “weeds”?