The other day I walked into the great room while my husband was watching a video, which he paused when he saw me. Frozen on the screen was an image of foliage. He said, “Do you know what that is?” I looked at it for a moment and asked, “Is it knotweed?” And apparently it was. He said, “I’m always amazed at the random stuff you know.” I, basking in the praise, did not point out that it wasn’t entirely random. I’ve made a hobby out of identifying local wildflowers, and Japanese knotweed is a memorable plant. It’s invasive, destructive, and nearly impossible to get rid of, not to mention that it’s growing just around the corner (yikes!).
A couple of days later we were driving down the highway, and he asked me to point out some Japanese knotweed for him. Once he knew exactly what to look for, he kept searching for it and commenting every time he saw large clusters. I can understand that. There’s some entertainment value in the horrific discovery of how overgrown the roadsides are with invasives. So just wait until he learns to identify purple loosestrife and autumn olive and black locust and so forth. He may not be able to keep his eyes on the road!