Some backyard reflections

By Donald H. Harrison

SAN DIEGO – My backyard is now carpeted in green and yellow – the green being what we commonly call “grass” and the yellow either “weeds” or “wildflowers” depending on a person’s point of view.  Those who want to exercise control over their domains probably would call them “weeds.”  People like myself, who realize that keeping tight control over anything blocks rather than encourages new experiences, are more prone to call them “wildflowers.”

I enjoy the multi-colored gift that Mother Nature has brought to me.  As these yellow flowers probably are only seasonal visitors, they should be as cherished as fleeting life itself.  When summer arrives at inland San Diego, the grass typically will turn brown, and the lawn probably will become too inhospitable for these bright, cheerful little buds.

I enjoy these wildflowers in their season, even as I find gophers fascinating when, unaware that I see them from my dinette window, they pop up out of their holes and regally survey what they apparently think are their realms.  I can spy on gophers and eavesdrop on the birds who like to chat things over while they watch the traffic on the main thoroughfare below our property.

There are some people of my acquaintance who become quite annoyed by weeds and gophers. In their opinion, wildflowers are ruinous to their pristine lawns, which they work very hard to make look as perfect as possible.  Wildflowers attract bees, which may prove dangerous, they note.  And, these acquaintances say, the gophers undermine the land beneath the lawn.  They want to “get rid” of the “pests” and, were it in their power, they, no doubt, would banish spiders and lizards as well.

Such defenders of domestic tranquility are likely to purchase high-tech weapons to fight off the backyard visitors.  There are a variety of sprays on the market to poison wildflowers, and there are pellets to annihilate gophers.  May the day never come when I am tempted to regard either wildflower or gopher as enemies upon which to unleash such chemical warfare.

I have a high degree of tolerance, even affection, for the creatures of my backyard– be they insects, arachnids, small reptiles, birds or mammals.  As long as they don’t come inside our house, uninvited, I’m more than willing to share the “ownership” of the outdoors with them.

I sense that I, rather than they, am the real beneficiary of this arrangement. Seasonal wildflowers and backyard critters remind me that there is far more to our world than the problems humankind insists upon creating for it.  Their presence reinforces the idea that in welcoming and sharing with others, we recognize that we are only pieces of creation.

From this realization can spring many possibilities for reflection.   For example, if it is important to share this earth with the flora and the fauna, how can it not be appropriate to welcome and to share with our fellow human beings?

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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World.  He may be contacted at donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com