The poppy leaf is stiff and white with frost. Delicate feathers of foliage contrast against brown mounds of spent high grass. When the sun comes out, the poppies thaw. Dew beads on a multicolored expanse of meadow. Rough and soft textures interweave; edges spill at random, blend in harmony.
Tetchy plants prefer to dominate, isolate. Eucalyptus comes to mind. Allelopathic, eucalyptus inhibits growth in adjacent plants. Shreds of fallen leaves smother the ground. The sameness of the eucalyptus forest, its homogeneity like a vast suburban tract or a war zone. Chemical warfare, a kind of balance, a kind of aggression.
Monica lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two foster dogs. She taught parents how to raise their toddlers for twenty-five years before retiring in 2015 to write. The secret to toddlers is to make sure you get enough sleep. Monica hasn't found the secret to writing, yet, but is diligently working at it. See links to her on-line stories on the publications page.
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4 thoughts on “Peace and War”
Chemical warfare, a way of ensuring need nutrients: survival. Wonderful creative description of your garden in winter.
Me too, but I also resign myself to life’s struggles. “Chemical warfare, a kind of balance, a kind of aggression.” (a tug of war in this case). Nature can be brutal in the mechanisms that organisms develop in order to doggedly survive.
Monica's Monday Morning Flash 
Chemical warfare, a way of ensuring need nutrients: survival. Wonderful creative description of your garden in winter.
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Oops! needed.
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Two different ways of surviving. I like variety myself.
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Me too, but I also resign myself to life’s struggles. “Chemical warfare, a kind of balance, a kind of aggression.” (a tug of war in this case). Nature can be brutal in the mechanisms that organisms develop in order to doggedly survive.
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