Aurora 2024

Sara Allard

Dandelion Kingdom There are fewer things more taken for granted than the life cycle of a dandelion. Dandelion stalks used to shoot up through even the ragged sidewalks, producing the loveliest, golden petals you ever saw. Then, all its yellow petals swirl into each other like sparrows in the sky, they create a cocoon so pure and elegant, that only the good ol’ fashioned glass perfume bottles can compare. Although those itchy white seedlings have some bridal beauty, it’s such a shame that they gotta launch the cocoon away in the process--like the soda cans thrown out of trucks on the highway. Shouldn’t they recognize beauty when they see it? Then again, it’s not like anyone else does. For the past 20 years, dandelions have become a rare find. The who, what, and when of this tragedy is still bein’ bickered about by the talkin’ heads, but it’s been us gardeners’ job to cope with the loss. I couldn’t stay the runnin’ champ of the “Best Flower Garden in Pine Haven” award if I didn’t have any bees to pollinate it after all, so I took matters into my own hands. What else is there for an old lady to do? And wouldn’t you know it, the soil from my garden was the only kind that did the trick! One “viable” dandelion later, and I was now a modern-day Mother Nature. When those science people barged into my little

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