Answering to my soliloquy.

In this 6 acres of land, besides me, many creatures  are also surviving.
And they continue their history of many million years on this planet and still are evolving.

Many of the plants, called "weed", are so agressive and we had to dig out their roots (e.g. blackberry) to make organic ferilizer (퇴비) pile.

Deers, ticks, bats, fish, insects, wild birds, and the numerous plants, "weeds", live

together competing for territory, food or sunshine.

I did not know why many small trees I planted were dying. The reason was simple. They did not

receive enough sunshine because of the big trees or weeds blocking sunshine. Too much water or

too little water also kill them.

Sunshine is an ultimate energy source for plants, which is a simple truth, I realize.

Many times, I failed to grow the germinated small lotus plants in a large trash bin, as they

did not receive enough sunshin all day.

Even the new lotus flower bud passes under the large leaves seeking for sunny water surface,  rather than growing strait up.

Under the tall trees, small trees and grasses cannot survive, as they do not get enough energy from the sunlight.

When, lotus leaves are becoming huge and completely cover the water surgface, no other water plants

can grow beneath due to the lack of sunshine.

The best way to keep small tress alive is to protect them from deers and weeds blocking the

sunshine, away frm any shade created by tall trees.  I need lots of mulch to prevent weeds growing near the tree or I have to pull

those weeds manually until they outgrow the weeds.

Even trees try to outgrow each other trees to get more sunshine.

If a bamboo plant stays on one spot without growing new branches or leaves all summer, it is

growing root system for the next season. If there is enough water, sunshine and nutrition, the

new shoot will come out in the middle of a summer too.

Some of the plants are very dangerous to us and the county goverement (군청) is holding

educatinal meetings as these weeds kill cattles and hurt human beings with spines.

We have now the invasion of Star Thristle (very invasive plant), which forms seeds with very

hard metal pin like spines, puncturing even a leather globe (가죽 장갑). It is dangerous to remove

them with bare hands.

I dug out and removed at least one small pickup truck load of this weed and dumped into the

pond water, as seeds will germinate in any humid soil and spread rapidly. Another way to kill

them is to burn in a dry pile.

Luckily, conifers(침엽수 예:소나무 ) do not attract deers and the leaves are very acid and no weeds

grow under their shade.

These little pine trees do not need protection from deers.

Every broad-leaved (활엽수) trees need to be protected with chicken wires

until they are 5-6 feet tall, as the deers eat the tip of new branches. I found out also small

pines survive better than the big pine trees when planted.

Maples, Magnolia, american Redbud, and dogwwod need to grow inside of  chicken wire fence.

Bamboo spreading?

Three pots of bamoos (Madake (Ph. bambusoid) which you will see in southern Korea (Damyang)

filled my small vegetable garden in the back yard in two years. No weeds can grow there as they block

sunshine with leaves or dead peeled shoot skins. I will transplant them into the wider area to

provide shade and view next spring.

New bamboo shoots are coming out.   My faithful helpers.

Lotus?

I thought they were only making large leaves without flowers for a while in one spot, but within the

last three months they filled already one half of our one acre pond. Lotus plant spreads even 20-30 meters (60-100

feet) in 3-4 months. Now I understand why my neighbor did not accept my free gift of lotus

plant in their pond!

This picture shows the pond in the spring when a few leaves were coming out.

Three months later, the whole area is covered with this lotus and began to produce flowers.

The diameter of lotus leaves are about 30 cm and receive sunlight all day.

That energy is converted into the new root system to spread.

I am afraid the lillies will be completely shadowed out unless I remove lotus roots around the

shallow lilly beds.

Eventually the little red lotus plant seeds I planted in the southern end will meet the advancing large crowd

of agressive lotus. They may have a show down. Who will win? Or truce?

Before the end of the year, I will know the score.

Why lotus plant needs flowers and seeds, if they can spread with root alone so fast?

They want to marry with other lotus plants growing far away to enrich their varieties

and produce the new breeds of lotus which could adap to the changing environment?

Huaman beings knew early on "how not to marry with close siblings and cousins." Lotus knew that too!

Why they make pretty colored flowers?


They want to attract bees, that will transport their pollens to lotus flowers FAR AWAY I think.

Well, often the pond dries up and the root can die out completetely when there is no water

during the drought.

The seeds do not germinate unless there is water for a month. That means

they do not germinate if the water evaporate and dry again within one month. The seeds want to

be sure there is water at least for one water for the survival of the new plant.

What a cleaver design they developed for the survival?

The plants are advancing towards the weed on the shore near the  rocks.

The weeds may lose the battle for the sunshine to these advancing lotus.

Charles Darwin was so right! Only those species that can adapt to changing environment can

survive.

Those around us now, whether they are plant or animals,  are the survivers!

Ebola virus is stupid?

They will not survive if they kill all human beings.

Look at the common cold virus!

They live well with human beings, as they do not wipe out human beings except the weak ones.

Deers:

Their natural enemy, Mountain Lions,  were removed and killed by humans, so deers thrive now.

In spring, the male deers chase after females and won't mind going through the rusty barbed

wires, even breaking them, resulting in mortal lacerations.

I have no other way than protecting the broad-leaved small strees (활엽수) from deers with

a small chicken wire fence around each plant with a great expense.

But the deers do not bother pines and bamboos. So all my broad-leaved small trees, dogwood, maples,

American red buds, gingkos,...  all live with a checkin wire fence around.

When the sun goes down,

and  night falls, the place becomes a play ground of beavers, bats, fish and

frogs under the moon light.

Then, I go to sleep to have all kinds of weary dreams