Last winter, the maintenance crew dug this hole and scraped away all the topsoil.
Supposedly, they needed a drainage pond for our geothermal units. I could see it right out my window, and it looked disturbing. Like an injury.
As the weather warmed, cracks appeared in the bare ground. The blanket of growing things was missing.
But then I noticed some little sprigs of green. No one tried to help by scattering grass seed over the area, but plants were showing up anyway - weeds.
I visited often, marveling at their industriousness. I had read that weeds are Nature's Bandaid - showing up when there is damage to be healed.
Day by day, more weeds popped up. They came in all shapes and sizes. Gradually, a protective green blanket began to cover the wound.
By now, in September, the injury is invisible. All I see is a verdant green field bursting with life.
I am amazed at the variety of weeds and the way they are distributed. There's a clump of grasses here, a stand of goldenrod, there, some wild flowers intermingled with the rest. I count dozens of species all sharing the ground in a dazzling array. There seems to be room for everyone.
Like a team of specialists sent from Headquarters to solve the problem.