Redefining invasives

I love wild mustard garlic. I can't wait for Spring so I can start adding it to my diet in salads, omelets, and making pesto out of it. It is packed with Vitamins A, C and anti-inflammatory compounds. I also love Japanese Knotweed. It is a powerful medicine to incorporate into healing from Lyme (and chronic Lyme). Honeysuckle, a bee magnet and one of my staple Spring smells is another of my favorite invasives. If they are crowding out your hedgerow or backyard, they are very easy to pull out by the root.

My favorite invasives:

Earth worms, (not the jumping ones, but the ones your grandfather used to bait a hook with, including nightcrawlers) so thank-you Europe and Asia..

Apples. Thank you central Asia.

Clover. Thank-you Europe.

Cows. Thank-you Europe.

Honey. Thank-you Europe.

Wheat. Thank-you Europe and West Africa where it came from.

Soy. Thank-you East Asia.

Rice. Thank-you east and south Asia.

Daisies. Thank-you Europe and Asia.

Dandelion. Thank-you Eurasia.

Garlic. Thank-you central and south Asia.

Onions. Thank-you central Asia.

Chickens. Thank-you southeast Asia.

The only difference between plants and animals from other parts of the world that are "invasive" and plants and animals from other parts of the world that are welcome is not whether they are "taking over" but whether they are considered cultural misfits. Do I need to repeat that?

To me Dandelions, Garlic Mustard and Knotweed are welcome. They are not misfits in my culture. And my culture is not a culture of one I assure you. When I learned that I had chronic Lyme and that is why I was experiencing panic attacks, night sweats, random aches and pains and chronic exhaustion, I soon learned that I should be taking knotweed infusions. And very soon after that I learned how to harvest the roots of this prolific "invasive" and make my own tincture, saving myself a lot of money. Some plants like dandelion and garlic mustard are both food and medicine. They are that good for you.

We just saw our housesitters (a young couple from Columbia) off at the train station to head back home because they couldn't renew their visas. They are two of the kindest, gentlest, friendliest, warm-hearted, good-natured people I have ever had the good fortune to cross paths with. For the four years they were living and working in the US (during summers), they met many folks who befriended them and made them feel welcome but they met the same number of Americans who made them feel either unwelcome or invisible. Before Trump came into office, their plan (dream) was to tour the country by car and head for the West Coast. Trump's tenure changed all that, and honestly, even if Trump had not been elected, if they had asked my opinion as to where they should go in the United States on their epic road-trip, I would have advised them not to tour the country at all. I don't think they would have been safe. Our country has become a dangerous place for people of color and people of color with foreign accents need to be careful where they go.

Back to our word invasives for those plants and animals that are considered cultural misfits. I think that bias or prejudice is just a symptom of the same small-mindedness that warps the American mainstream monocultural psyche into building walls around our sorry land and sticking up no trespassing signs everywhere.

So I say,"Hello invasives and welcome. Tell me about yourself. How long can you stay!"