I spent countless hours of my summers hoeing, chopping and using a knife to cut weeds out of our bean fields. We called it "walking beans". It was hard, hot and tiring. Still, we learned a great deal about work ethic and it was the ONLY time we were paid for our help around the farm. And oh... did we get tan!
We were a farm family and everyone who ate at the table was expected to do their part. Chemicals have replaced bean-walking, but the pendulum may be swinging back the other way with organic farms growing. We had several types of weeds and we fought hard. One of them was the milkweed.
The mighty milkweed grew taller than many of the other weeds. The milk in the stem was sticky. In my memories, I can still smell the unique scent. If the pods went to seed, they would re-seed the field for next year. Our goal was to remove them so they would not return. Pulling up by the roots was the best practice, but some we cut out.
This year, I smile and remember my friends who grew up closer to Chicago not understanding the whole bean walking thing. Javier, Kim, Joyce, Donnie, Brad and Brian were closer to the city. It was not what their friends at home did over the summer to earn money. Our Kankakee/Bourbonnais friends sort of understood. Those who lived closer to the church campgrounds knew of the practice, even if they had never experienced it. April and I didn't just experience it... we lived it.
As teens, bean-walking interrupted our summers. We didn't realize the many life lessons we were learning. And, we enjoyed the conversation with the town kids that came out to help us. Some didn't last more than a few days. Others became like family around the lunch table. We battled the weeds, the heat and the push to cover as many acres a day as we could conquer. Many a milkweed, button weed and "smart weed" fell to our hoes and our pulls.
Now, I look at some of the "weeds" with a little different perspective. We are learning more everyday about the need for the weeds in our road ditches to nourish different parts of nature's delicate balance. I still love the look of a field without weeds, but I know the Monarch Butterflies have a symbiotic relationship with the milkweed.
The monarchs drink nectar from and lay their eggs on the milkweed. The hatched larvae eat the milkweed leaves, and acquire their poisonous chemicals. Predators are less likely to eat monarch larvae and adults. Milkweed gets pollinated by the adult monarch. As certain weeds and wildflowers disappear, so do other living creatures that rely on them for survival. Imagine a world without Monarch butterflies?
I still prefer a clean field, but I've softened my heart toward the milkweed.
"On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate." -Psalm 145:5
Today, I am grateful for the misunderstood milkweed.
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