 |
| See the tall plant? |
 |
| Wild parsnip - thick, hollow stem, yellow flowers like Cow parsnip, (which has white flowers). |
I've found that Poison Ivy killer works on it. Using gloves, you can direct the spray and get rid of this noxious weed. Waist-high, with thick, hollow stems, it makes fetching mail a risky affair
It is insidious. Once the county came along and used the bush hog on the ditches, then dug the ditches out, they have been prolific. Anyone who works in the field needs to be warned.
Well, there I was, with traffic going by at breakneck speed, when I heard a pop. A small car's tire burst, then flew off of the axle. It was quite amazing. I can still see the vivid movie in my head, an airborne tire bouncing off of the road, spinning madly. It rolled for several hundred yards, parallel to the road.
The OPP arrived, two cars, and traffic slowed down. How joyful! I suggested we'd be happy if the OPP sat there every time we had to fetch the mail. "Everyone needs our help." he replied mournfully. I hope it was his end of shift...
The bugs were terrible, I was glad I had on bug spray. The other OPP officer, looking in the bush for the tire, didn't believe me that it was headed that way. Helping to look, I warned one passerby about the Wild parsnip. His wife assured me he knew what to look for as he is a biologist. Her son is an OPP, too. Eventually, they went on their way, but several people stopped to try help. I assured the guy it wouldn't have gone through the wire fence. He was searching in our bush. He finally found it where I said it was, well down the road!
Their parents lived along the road apiece, and they came and took the infant and her car seat to their home, while the couple had a cigarette or two. The OPP waited for the tow truck. I offered to help, but they declined any assistance, more concerned with getting (and paying for) a tow. They unpacked essentials from the car and it was towed away.
I kept on looking for birds, monarchs and bees. (See those photos tomorrow!)
4 comments:
I don’t think we have these parsnip weeds but we have plenty others. It was good that the tire did not create a bad accident. A good thing too that the tire did not fly your way.
Jeepers, I never even thought of that! It could have. The driver did lose control when it flew off the axle. Yikes.
I often have to shield my eyes as cars whiz by, there is much gravel on the road.
That's a rough day for them, all told.
I have to watch out for the evil cow parsnip! The last time I brushed by a plant, it looked like I had a chemical burn, rather than a rash! But the sap needs light to react on your skin, so maybe you could brave more insects, and try getting rid of it in the dark...
Post a Comment