Wild Open Spaces

Was reading my friend's blog Wide Open Spaces and noticed she's a little worried about her lawn responsibilities. She just bought a house.

According to Michael Pollan in Second Nature, she might have reason to worry. Some guy got fined thousands of dollars for not taking his lawn responsibilities seriously. He lived in a community that seemed to mix up lawncare with democratic ideals... something like "manicured lawn equals good patriot."

But today's picture is Gail Nadeau's lawn, and it just about makes me want to sing "America the Beautiful." See, beauty is bigger than the little boxes we try to put it in, and it is wilder than the fines we sometimes levy against it.

So, my blog friend, I hope you'll feel free to go wild sometimes, and I also hope your community will show a true democratic spirit when you do.

Photograph by Gail Nadeau. Used with permission.