At our forestry field trip this past weekend we were in our first rotation about invasive weed species. Our teacher stepped over to the bushes and with her hand pruners she took three clippings from the “nasty blackberries” growing there.
She proceeded to lay the three clippings down on the ground in front of us for our group to observe. All I saw was three “nasty blackberry” clippings.
She then proceeded to explain each to us.
There were not three clippings of the same plant … there were, in fact, three completely different plants. Two of the plants were native plants. One of the plants was an invasive noxious weed.
My mind was blown!
Once she explained them to us, I could clearly see the differences between each! It was totally obvious!
I was in awe that she could do this!
Yesterday, I headed out to walk my daily loops for exercise … when right away I wound up over in the bushes with my iNaturalist “Seek” app open. (I couldn’t help but think: Oh dear, it’s going to take forever to get my 1 hr. of exercise today!)
Using my “Seek” app and by pointing my phone-camera at different “blackberry” leaves I was startled to discover that I too could do the exact same thing our teacher on our forestry field trip did.
Not only was I able to identify the three different “blackberry-looking” plant species our teacher did, but my “Seek” app helped me identify a fourth! All growing in the exact same spot … all intermingled and intertwined in amongst each other!
Take a look at these four photos. Three of these plants are native to our area, and as such are perfectly fine. One of these plants is an invasive noxious weed … which needs to go!
Were you able to spot the differences? Were you able to identify which was the non-native invasive species?
The first photo is the new plant I just discovered. It is a Whitebark Raspberry (also known as Blackcap Raspberry). This is Washington’s only native raspberry plant. How cool is that! Its distinctive features are that it has sets of 3 leaves … its vine is a blueish-green color … the vine is rounded in shape … with many short sharp prickly thorns!
Here is another photo of a larger Whitebark Raspberry cane our forestry professor pointed out to us last week, during our site visit. He said that the berries are absolutely delicious and are his very favorite berry! Who knew! I had seen this large prickly cane on my daily walks for exercise, and had been planning on pulling it up when I had a chance. I’m glad I now know better!
The second photo is the Trailing Blackberry. Once again, this plant is native to our area and as such is perfectly fine! This is its home. It is supposed to be here. According to our forestry teachers, it makes an excellent groundcover, it is a good source of food for wildlife, and makes the forest look quintessential Pacific Northwest!
It’s distinctive features are that it has sets of 3 leaves … its vine is a thin shoelace (which will try to trip you!) … and the vine has very short inconsequential prickles.
The third photo is the Himalayan Blackberry. This is the non-native invasive weed! This plant will take over! It will run rampant! It will completely choke out all native plants trying to grow in the surrounding area! It does not provide habitat for wildlife because its canes become so dense and thick and woody, with sharp painful thorns!
It’s distinctive features are that it has sets of 5 leaves … its vine is thick and woody … the vine is boxy in shape … the vine is covered with large sharp painful thorns!
The fourth photo is Salmonberry. This plant is native to our area … and also produces delicious edible berries (if you can get to them before the wildlife). Once again, sets 3 leaves. And while its leaves look strikingly similar to blackberry leaves, this plant grows upright on woody shrubby stalks with light prickles.
Now that I know the differences between the four species, it has suddenly become “easy” to identify them as I go about my business. Much to my surprise, I now have the same “superpower” our forestry teacher had at the field trip on Saturday.
Yesterday afternoon I went out to the garden to gather the last of the zucchini. These blackberry vines were creeping in over the side of the garden.
In a “blink” my responding thought was: those are native trailing blackberries … those are fine … just keep them out of the garden.
As I stepped out of the garden with my armful of zucchini, I noticed these blackberries growing at the entrance to the garden. In a “blink” my responding thought was: those are invasive! … those have to go!
Today’s blog post asks the question: What is true?? And what is not?
As we go about our daily lives, we are continually being fed a lot of misinformation. Just like the native and invasive blackberry vines all growing intermixed and intertangled with each other, so also the truth is mixed in and intertangled together with a lot which is not true.
How do we know what to believe?? … and what not to believe?
I discussed in yesterday’s blog post about how thoughts often randomly pop into our mind out of nowhere. How do we know if those thoughts are true?? How do we know if we should linger and ponder on those thoughts?? Or even take action on those thoughts? Or … if we are being deceived?
Let’s face it … in the world in which we live, truth has almost been completely wiped away. Truth has become whatever anyone wants it to be.
In today’s world there is no absolute truth about anything. Everybody has their own individual view of what truth is.
But deep down, we know that we all can’t be true. If you believe something completely opposite of what I believe … common sense tells us that we both can’t be true. One of us is incorrect.
The source of all truth is God!
And God has given us an instruction manual to tell us what truth is: truth can be found in the Bible.
Just like I didn’t know what was true or not true when it came to “blackberries” … most people don’t know what truth is simply because they don’t have enough information.
* I needed my forestry teacher to point out for me the differences between the true natives and the false invasives. So also, in the same way, if you are searching for truth … you need someone to help point out for you the differences between what is true and what is not true.
* Once my forestry teacher had pointed out “truth” for me … I then needed to study it for myself. I needed to take my information “out in the field” and use my information to compare what I was seeing.
So also, in the same way, if you are searching for truth … you need to take the information you learn in the Bible about truth, and you need to take it “out in the field” and use it to identify what is true and not true in the world around you.
Perhaps you are searching for the truth about God. Is there really a God? What is God like?
One of the categories on this Daily Blessing blog is: What is God like?
If you are searching for truth about God, check it out:
What is God like? Archives – Daily Blessing
Perhaps you are thinking: I don’t know anything at all about the Bible. What is the Bible even about??
One of the categories on this Daily Blessing blog is: Gateway to Heaven. These blog posts take a look at each book of the Bible and let you know, at its essence, what the Bible is about.
If you are searching for truth about the Bible, check it out:
Gateway to Heaven Archives – Daily Blessing
Perhaps you are searching for truth about your identity. Who am I? Who am I supposed to be??
One of the categories on this Daily Blessing blog is: Identity.
If you are searching for truth about your identity, check it out:
Identity Archives – Daily Blessing
The way to know truth is to know God.
The way to know God is to read the book He has written for us: the Bible.
The way to identify and distinguish between what is true and what is not … is to study and learn what God says is truth. If you know what is true … then you will instantly be able to recognize what is not true.
