Oh hell, it’s like shooting fish in a barrel, isn’t it!

“Squamous, scaly; covered with scales.”

“inguinal — Pertaining to or in the region of the groin.”

twitches – Glad you liked it. Thanks for stopping by.

Yes, that’s just what I’m afraid of. In fact, I think we’re about 90 percent of the way to that state of mind. Having attended the occasional forest or parkland planning meeting over the years, it’s quite clear that most people don’t see the value of old fields, scrub, or wetlands. Most do seem to “get” forests, but think that a planting a narrow strip of pine trees covers all the bases. Likewise, the same gang seem to be under the mass delusion that a storm water reservoir is the same thing as a pond. Well, I guess so, if you like your ponds full of lawn fertilizer, and other run-off from lawns, streets and parking lots. Few understand anything about forest interiors or the importance of wildlife corridors and contiguous habitat. I’m at the point that, if I hear, “It’s only an old swamp!” one more time — spoken as justification for turning a wetland area into a housing development — I’ll probably scream. Just sign me — Ol’ Curmugeon.

marly – I’m glad the wandering style wasn’t a turn-off.

I hadn’t thought about whether the common name “broomsedge” indicates that the plant has been used for making brooms, but I don’t see why it couldn’t be.

I actually sort of enjoy sweeping, though I don’t usually remember to do so until the dirt is pretty obvious.

Peter – Well, of course you only get blue shadows with strong sunlight, and sometimes the sun doesn’t put in too many appearances during the winter, depending on where on lives. So such associations aren’t going to be nearly as common as whiteness and purity (“pure as the driven snow”).

“Depauperate” means almost exactly the same as “impoverished.” It’s ecological jargon, really. I thought about using “impoverished” there, but I just don’t like the sound of the word as well.

Thanks for enriching my vocabulary with “depauperate.”

Very sobering post. I don’t know much about the subject, but it seems like a great summary of what we face as a planet.