We started to see it in South Carolina - stretches of trees buried in
the stuff, homogenizing the landscape into a mass of sameness. It was
fascinating, at first, because it was different from up north. But
after a while it was disconcerting. Old buildings being engulfed- open
fields, farm implements. Like a sci-fi terror- the base camp on an
alien world engulfed by a fast growing vegetation. But this is real.
Yes, it can grow several feet a day. I imagine it growing over the
road, blocking it on one the those long stretches through the swamps
of Georgia- and we turn the car around, only to find it blocking our
way back, a few miles behind us! We stop the car and climb out, and
strange sounds reach our ears- the rustling, creaking scraping sounds
of vegetation running amok. We quickly get back in the car, and I look
for a spot to try to drive through. Then I think, maybe we should try
to go through on foot- we are more able than a car to deal with it. It
can't grab us or anything.. Park the car back a ways, in hopes that
it won't be buried before we can get help...A decorative plant
introduced to the wrong climate- or the right climate from the plant
"point-of-view".
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