Noxious Weed Poetry

For those of us who just can't get enough of noxious weeds!!

Sung to the tune of

"April Showers"

By Willie Penner

When April showers may come your way,

They bring the weeds that come in May.

So, if it's raining rain you know,

It's raining noxious weeds.

And when you see clouds upon the hills,

You soon will see crowds of yellow toadflax.

So keep on looking for the Weed Board

And listening for them to say,

"We must get these weeds stopped today,"

UNTITLED

By Cheri Marsh

Master Gardner, Chelan County

It looked so pretty,

There in the ditch,

So I moved it to the rockery,

in a little niche...

It loved the sun, the water, the care,

it flourished, it bloomed and had seeds to spare.

The sprouts, they were many, all over the place,

I moved them again, now my walkway they graced.

My friends all admired them, and gladly I shared,

for the beauties abounded, I had plenty to spare.

They seemed to enjoy all my loving attention,

So I transplanted more, too many places to mention!

I was proud as punch of those pretty flowers,

as I watched them spread, almost by the hour.

Then one day Terry Weedboard stopped by for a visit,

so I pointed it out and asked, "What the heck is it?"

"Oh my gosh, it's noxious, you'll have to spray!"

and with that one little sentence, he ruined my day.

This story, it's true, and 'twas mournful for me,

the day St. John's Wort succumbed to the 2,4-D.

WEED IDENTIFICATION

By Arlys Gay Lykes

Stevens County Noxious Weed Control Board

I had a call to check some weeds

And since that's how I'm paid

I'll do the deed.

My jeans were pressed

My shirt clean

when I arrived upon the scene.

As I surveyed the humble farm

my eyes were filled with some alarm.

"A bracken fern" I sternly said

"if your horse eats this he'll sure be dead

"Well, that's all fine," she said to me

"but that's not the weed

I've called you to see."

"It's in the pasture, past the trees

Over the hill-look out for bees!

Up the creek and down the brook

Off we set to take a look.

Oh joy, oh rapture, when after awhile

She said, "It's not far now, just another mile."

Oh wonder, wonder - what will it be?

This horrid weed we've set out to see?

By this time my feet were froze

But onward, onward, on we goes.

It's just down this little slope

hang on to the branches as down we grope.

And then she said "Hi ho! We're there!"

And I looked around and asked her

"Where?"

She eyed me then with some distrust

Here voice echoes her disgust.

"It's all right here within your sight

See all those blooms so large and white."

And I looked and to my sorrow

All I could see was common yarrow.

"It's just yarrow, ma'am, no need to fear,

A common plant that's native here.

It seems to like this rocky clime

where the sun shines freely all the time."

She looked at me like I'd gone mad

and lost what little sense I 'd had.

She softened then and I heard her say,

"Thanks for coming out today,

and I hope your feelings won't be hurt,

but I'm going to ask my neighbor - he's a weed expert."