After moving into the mountains a few years ago I found myself being more aware of nature’s diversity. I would imagine a lot of people, especially in Colorado, think they are aware and in tune with nature and I am sure many are. But going from city life to mountain life will open your eyes to a lot more of it. Walking up the Recycled Asphalt Pavement (RAP) road along the property hundreds of times eventually led me to see a small plant coming up through it.
From that day I was impressed that against all odds this little seed had pushed up through compacted asphalt like that. It wasn’t the only one either. That year and the next I saw other instances of it along the road. The four words that are the title of this blog came immediately to mind upon first seeing a little plant find a way to live like that. Walking in the mountains after seeing that made me more aware of similar instances elsewhere.
Last year I read “A Natural History of Empty Lots: Field Notes from Urban Edgelands, Back Alleys, and Other Wild Places“. It was a gift from my friend Curtis who I found out after I finished had read it as well, so we ended up having a good conversation about it. I have been meaning to write a review of the book and it will happen at some point. The point is, all of the above fits in with the theme of the book where the author found himself learning a lot about nature the more time he spent in it.
Harpers Ferry
During my recent East Coast drive I passed through Harpers Ferry, West Virginia in search of an old-fashioned candy store. I hadn’t looked at the town or map enough to realize in advance that it was a historic town. Once there and having made that realization I decided to walk around and explore a bit. Settled along the Potomac river, it is also next to a rail line that includes a bridge over the river and into a tunnel through a hill across the water. From the riverbank along the town or the bridge you have a good view of several older rock foundations used for bridges that are no more.
The first thing I noticed about them was how green they were. Despite being their own islands in the river they had grass, flowers, bushes, and even trees. It was clear that not only had the wind taken seeds across to settle on them, but enough time had passed for it all to grow in. I found the entire scene beautiful and loved that Nature had again found a way. As irrational as it may be, those foundations covered in greenery made me want to somehow get across the water to explore them.
Four days later in Grovewood, North Carolina I ran into another instance of Nature finding its way through asphalt. This time in a parking lot but just to the side of parking spaces giving it a chance to flourish. In my mind that was aided by humans who made an effort not to step on the greenery sprouting. Given it is an artisan community that further convinced me it was the case.
Dystopia
So what’s the point of all this? After seeing the Grovewood sprouts my mind got to spinning as it does. I thought about movies and TV that are dystopian but set in or around a city that had plant life thriving. Seeing the examples above in the real world made me realize that it isn’t improbable at all for a bleak future like the fiction portrays. In fact, it is very likely that given enough time that grass, flowers, plants, and trees would take hold in such places. Without humans there keeping it cut back or walked on it can thrive.
The next time you see green shooting up where in your mind it shouldn’t, give it a chance. Walk around it, or even pour out a little water if you have some, to help it along.
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