Fireweeds of Survival (A Bouquet for Liana)

I wish apathy was the refuge it used to be.
Liana

Every part of the ”weed”, Epilobium (Chamerion) Angustifolium, aka fireweed and willowherb, from its roots to its flowered tip, can be used. It can, among other things, provide food (rich in vitamins A and C), medicine (both internal and external) or woven (the silk-like seed strands) into exquisite cloth.

You have probably never seen fireweed cloth. It is not commercially doable; no profit, no product. In other words, the prevailing order cannot afford exquisite (= beautiful, intense and sensitive) cloth, not for Armani Ts nor Victoria Secret thongs. Nor can this generous plant share its other gifts due to commercial dictates.

Fireweed is a pioneer species. It takes root under harsh conditions and prepares the soil for other vegetation.

I wish anything about this country felt as reliable and strong as I once thought it was.
Liana

The two quotes stem from Liana’s blog at The Hour of Soft Light.  She’s as good with words as photos. You’ll have to visit her site to see the photos, but the two quotes testify to her ability with words, and why I dedicate this bouquet of fireweeds to her.

I believe the two quotes capture the sentiments of many people, not only Americans. We’ve passed the point of pretending we can avoid the approaching dangers, and what we ”once thought” no longer applies to the reality raining down upon us. The time to learn from the fireweeds has arrived.

We are not commercial! We are viable forms of life, not commodities. The dictates of money threaten us and life in general. We, like fireweeds, must nourish one another, care for one another and weave our beauty, intensity and sensitivity into a cloth of unity capable of resisting the storm of money’s dictates while clothing our needs in dignity.

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”Beauty expresses the harmony of form embracing function.”
Dartwill Aquila

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The West Bank is now the Judea-Samaria area.