I had to mow the lawn this morning. The grass was not long - it has barely grown since I mowed last week. In fact, I think I know Crayola's secret as to where they got the term "burnt orange." They took a look at people's yards in July in Kansas City and that is the color they saw, which is what yards are starting to look like around here right now.
Except we are in Minnesota, and it is only June, and we are already having the hottest and driest summer I can recall in years, which is just fine with me (although not so much the farmers I live around. Especially the one I live with, who would like rain Right Now.) Oh. I digress.
Anyway, as I was mowing, I was observing how sparse the grass looked, all shriveled and dry and pathetic looking. (Even worse than my usual grass, which, even at its best, is never much to write home about because frankly, I think grass is boring and I don't waste much time on nurturing it.)
Then I looked up ahead, and saw this lush green oasis in the midst of the parched ground, and there was a beautiful, and ever expanding, patch of clover. (It started a couple years ago about the size of a basketball, and has now grown to be about yard in diameter. Slow but sure wins the race, and the clover is definitely on the winning team in my yard.) The white puffed flowers were waving in the slight breeze, and the leaves hugged the ground as they spread ever onwards. Some people consider clover to be a noxious weed, but it occurred to me that the only patch of actual green I could see across several yards was, in fact, my clover, and it made me think a little bit.
First, I wondered what perverse instinct caused people to decide grass was the desirable thing for a lawn, and everything else was a weed? It is high maintenance. Hard work. You have to fertilize, do weed control, water it, cut it, water it some more, cut it some more. Its an endless job, and a thankless one, too. And frankly, it is expensive to have a lush grass yard.
Why not something like clover, instead? Clover is pretty. It attracts honey bees. It is obviously drought resistant, and I'm pretty sure its the first thing to sprout in the spring and the last thing to die in the fall. I've never seen a thistle among a clover patch, and it is a pretty green color. Why not clover?
As I continued to mow and think, I pondered how grass and clover are like people. There are people who think they are more important than anyone else. Like grass, they are high maintenance, require a lot of effort to maintain the relationship, and if you don't do everything they require, they will turn brown and ugly on you. I have had people like that in my life, and I find myself wondering how it can possibly be worth the work to keep it going. (A few times, I have actually decided it wasn't, and have never regretted the decision, FWIW.)
Then there are the clover people. They are easy, always there for you, doesn't matter if its been a wet spell or a dry spell in your life, you can just count on them and their sunny attitude. They benefit others, just by being present. They don't need a lot of care and attention, and they will never, ever intentionally stick you with a thorn.
Some people call clover weeds. I don't see it that way. (My neighbors probably beg to differ, and in all fairness, I am sorry for any injustice to them where my clover overgrowth is concerned.) But life has been harsh, especially for the past year and half, and I appreciate ever more the clover in my life.
Other people can have their grass. I love clover, and I hope that is me.
