For the past few months we have had an ongoing debate about a weed growing in the backyard here at Lexicon headquarters. It first grabbed our eye in June when it blossomed beautiful Sunflowers. For a time, the weed had us fooled and we let it grow unabated. The flowers disappeared and we now have a wall of ten foot high leafy stalks at the edge of our back porch. They have clusters of tiny golden pollen pods that, when shook, illicit into the air a fine dust. For a time we believed our weed was, in fact, Goldenrod -- the Kentucky state flower.
Its true identity remains a mystery and perhaps it will take that mystery to its grave for we have entered the twilight of its golden life. Our backyard grows more wondrous by the day. The trees have begun shedding their leaves and the walnuts threaten cranial damage (the squirrels throw them at us).