Light/Breezes

Light/Breezes
SUNRISE AT DEATH VALLEY-Photo by Tom Cochrun

Monday, February 13, 2012

WILD THOUGHTS

WILD IS...
     Relative isn't it? Your wild could be my tame.  Defying convention, breaking the norm, pushing boundaries may be a staple of creative expression or political conviction or a departure into that area of shades of gray where "either/or" cease to exist.
     Madness, revolutionary, progressive, renaissance; they all cluster closely on a spectrum. Sometimes getting out of the lines leads to transcendence. Other times defiance of the
norm means aggression. 
     And in the long line of the hall of time, who can say
with a sense of permanence which it is or even where wild becomes convention?

      "For myself I hold no preferences among flowers, so long as they are wild, free, spontaneous. Bricks to all greenhouses! Black thumb and cutworm to the potted plant!"
Edward Abbey

A NORTHERN KUDZU?
      If you've visited the south you probably saw Kudzu, an 
invasive vine like specie that covers everything in its path.
Barns, walls, poles, fences, old cars or farm equipment are all swallowed by the advance of Kudzu.
      Well, Cambria may have a rival.




     This wild vine seems to be a little more laid back than the Southern Kudzu, but our varietal is spreading nonetheless.
      I've done a limited bit of research but I've not found some one who can identify it.  My best guess is California wild grape or a pepper vine.  If you know, please share it with us. 
      See you down the trail.

4 comments:

  1. These pictures are awesome!

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  2. Tom:

    I am certain you may still have contacts within the horticulture school at Purdue. I'll bet someone up there can identify your California "Kudzu" !

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  3. Uh, oh, man the flamethrowers, boys, it's heading our way!

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  4. Hello Tom. A friend of yours, Beverly Delauer, asked me to identify this plant. It grows around our property in Cambria. It is called Cape Ivy (Delairea odorata). Very invasive. Likes moist soil. Smothers everything in site. The run-off under the vine is not healthy for fish in the area. In other words, almost as bad as "Southern Kudzu".

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