Beautiful Weeds

The plants my neighbors call weeds are beautiful to me.

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Dandelion Seeds

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I call this plant Cow Heather, because it likes cow pastures and because of the color seen in the background above. Farmers think of it as a weed because the cattle don’t care for it’s sour taste, and I have been told that it flavors milk unpleasantly. Apparently it does not affect the meat. My husband calls it Sour Grass and chewed on it as a child. I’ve always called an entirely different plant Sour Grass, which tastes more lemony and fresher, to me, and which I’ve intoduced to the children. I, and the cows, don’t like this one’s flavor, but I do like it’s heathery appearance. I am happy to see fields of it or small patches. When back lit by the afternoon sun a translucence, not readily visible from a distance, can be seen.