Let's hear it for the weeds.

I say that as a veteran of battle. I have spent more hours on my knees than I care to count, filled more yard bags than I could ever remember. But at this point, a weed to me is like a great player on a team you despise: You can't stand them but you have a grudging admiration because they're so good at what they do.

Is there anything as resilient as a weed? Put aside the knee-jerk revulsion and you realize that they are marvels. You don't have to water or feed them, you don't have to give them space or protect them, you don't have to work the soil to optimize their chances, you don't have to buy seeds and plant them. You can try to ward them off, seal all the cracks in your pavement, pull them up by the root when they do appear, but still they come. And come again.

I haven't exactly given up, but I no longer approach the fight with the same gusto. I will weed around our berries and in our raised vegetable beds........

© Newsday