Hey Mom, Take a Whiff of This

By Brenda Black

Prairie Parsley - photo by Brenda Black ©2015

I took a tour of the Briarwood Native Prairie last weekend and was mesmerized by the incredible intricacies and beautiful diversity of more than 200 species of plants. Prairie biologist Elizabeth Hamilton-Steele offered insight on a dozen of the most prominent samples of flora. She provided history on each variety and counseled prairie tourists on whether the plants were edible or poisonous. I appreciated the colorful scenery and fascinating science, but the take-away had to be the handy eat / don't eat advice. You never know -- it could mean the difference between life and death, should I ever take up residence on a rolling grassy patch of paradise.

On the tails of such details about leaves, seeds, roots and blooms, I had to wonder how such edible knowledge first was discovered. You can't trust the grazing habits of animals or insects entirely. What their stomachs can handle might mean our demise. For example, Steele explained that the milk weed plant's sap is toxic to us, but the sole diet of the delicate Monarch butterfly. Their cast iron digestive tract serves them well, for birds have learned if they chomp down on an orange and black winged bite, they'll suffer the consequences. They choose to pass up the bitter butterfly and pursue something a little sweeter and safer.

Amethyst Shooting Star - Photo by Brenda Black ©2015

Neither can you count on the assumption that if one part of the plant is safe, that all parts are beneficial. That's even true with common vegetables we consume. Several edible plants have poisonous parts or parts that can turn poisonous in the wrong conditions, including potatoes, rhubarb, spinach and peaches. And the ONLY thing you better eat off of a tomato plant, is the tomato! Wilderness-survival.net provides a 13-step plan to determine the edibility of wild plants – Yes, I said 13 steps! So my nagging question remains: Who was the guinea pig to take the first brave bite that would save generations to follow all of the risk?

 

One friend ventured that was the job of the women in a tribe. Go figure! So some innocent female is stoking the fires at base camp when her husband's hunting party returns with venison and some strange leafy side salad that he thinks just might round out supper. He has neither nibbled nor sniffed. That's her duty. If she lives, he dines lavishly. If she dies, he'll be all the wiser.

Tell me if I'm wrong, ladies, but aren't we still playing this role centuries later. “Hey, Mom, smell this! Is it still okay to eat it?” “Honey, will the green film on top kill me?” “Here, you taste it and see if it's sour.” Take it a step further. Who has conquered cold and flu season, wiping noses, cleaning bathrooms and rocking little loved ones who insist on coughing in your face and spitting up on you? A Mom's immune system has to be one of the toughest in the world.

Prairie Ragwort - Photo by Brenda Black ©2015

Ironically, my prairie tour fell on Mother's Day weekend. Once again, I was reminded just how much our mothers, grandmothers and even those dozens of generations prior, have been watching over us and sacrificing for us. I do believe we have courageous and resilient ancestral female genetics to thank for more than we can fathom. Here's my Native Prairie salad bar salute to all those past and those now persevering! Happy Belated Mother's Day!

A Conflict of Conscience

A Conflict of Conscience
By Brenda Black

Visions of Tweety Bird's Grandmother beating off Sylvester popped into my mind when I scanned a recent headline: “Thief Mugs 90-Year-Old, Gives Back Purse.” In the movie Madagascar, Granny's contemporary cartoon cousin just as fiercely wallops Alex the Lion in the middle of Grand Central Station. Though the two animated nanas slung their purses and wielded their canes, this real-life 90-year-old Kansan wisely called for back-up when a man grabbed her purse and ran.

The woman called a neighbor and told him what happened. They returned near the scene of the crime and spied the robber going through her purse. The neighbor called police, then started honking his horn at the man. The mugger walked over to the car and after a brief conversation, handed over some of the victim's personal items before running. Police said all of the 90-year-old's personal property was recovered and she was not hurt, but the criminal has not been caught.

Wouldn't you love to know what was said through that car window. What compels a man to wrangle a purse from a little old woman? Is it depravity or cowardice. And what drives him to undo the damage? Conscience or bravery. Did he apologize. Did he tell her of his dire needs and plead for mercy. I'd sure like to know.

Our times are desperate for many people. Even the good can go bad when they reach a point of fearful frustration. But there is a moral compass. No matter what new age religiosity or faith of the day teaches, mankind is accountable and created to know the difference between right and wrong. Those standards are not based on personal gain. They are not established in philosophy think tanks. The fundamental absolutes are mandated by God himself. He is truth.

Somewhere in the conscience and heart of this criminal, that compass spun out of control. After vibrating nervously between poles, the magnetic force of good pulled him due north. Hopefully he will not waiver again. Hopefully he will see his mishap as motivation to stay the course with good moral judgment. Hopefully, the reason for his desperation will be met with provision by honest means. And hopefully he will seek Christ Jesus for forgiveness.

We are all susceptible to wavering from what we know is right. In an instance, we can go against our best moral judgment. In a moment of frustration, we too can react improperly. After stewing and brewing over mistreatment, we can retaliate on an innocent bystander, taking from them what we have had stolen from us. We would all be depraved and desperate without God's divine moral compass, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23)

Our hope for honest living comes by submitting to God's rules. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
(1 Corinthians 10:13)

Sure, this robber was caught in the act. In the glare of a car's headlights his sins were revealed. The blaring of a horn announced to the world his dastardly behavior. But he faced the light and walked to the car and laid his sin in the lap of the lady.

“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.” (Rom. 6:11-14)

If you want a clear conscience, “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5b)