In Plain Sight

My neighbor and I share land at the tip of the cul-de-sac. Weeds have grown, browned, and become unruly to the extent that we have agreed to do something. Clearly, the offending weedy plants are to be removed. 

The question is do we plant something in their place? Something more beautiful? We’ve thrown around several ideas—lavender, wildflowers, native grasses. 

This morning, as I looked over my own back yard, I saw a solution. Gopher weed. It’s a succulent with a beautiful yellow bloom in the spring. It’s blooming right now. Yesterday I walked among the plants and found no weeds, so that tells me it blocks out weeds. It’s easy to grow. We have plenty of excess plants that could be transplanted, watered for a short time until they get established, and then left alone.

It seems a perfect solution that was right in front of me all the time while I stretched to find a solution.

You write or draw it: When have you struggled with a decision when the solution was in front of you all the time?