Caragana and Tansy by the old house.

Caragana and Tansy grow by the door of the old house Helen lived in until she was about eight. In the past both were valued bacause they would grow in the harsh environment of the Canadian Prairies. Now this ability to flourish in these conditions means they are considered weed species because they spread if not rigourously checked.

“And I told him that a man's life is always dealing with permanence - that the most dangerous kind of irresponsibility is to think of your doings as temporary. That, anyhow, is what I've tried to keep before myself. What you do on the earth, the earth makes permanent.”

from A Place on Earth
by Wendell Berry