Three terraces form the foundation for our home on a hill. The hill stands out in the Turkey Creek Quadrangle map, but it has no name. We refer to our knoll with its expansive view in west Texas as Poprock Hill, but the numerous swallows gliding about our home prompt us to rename the hill: Swallow Hill. We’ve not committed to the change, but the possibility lingers.
Pale-leaf Yucca grows and roots along and down each of our three terraces, providing nectar for moths and fruit for deer although we have seen no deer in several months. The yucca stalks are several feet high, the blossoms are so heavy that most of the stalks are weighted down, drooping bulbs, yet still a vibrant yellow-white for weeks in mid-spring. By now, the last days of July, all of the blossoms have fallen.
It is said that plants grow in assemblies, like a family of sorts. If so, then our yucca family on Poprock Hill prospers and grows haply. I do not see the yucca as a plant to be uprooted, but as a succulent that prevents erosion of our terraces, an ornamental of natural spikes guarding our home. A protector. Someday because of erosion we will have to reinforce the terraces, but we will not uproot one yucca, one family, one blade, to do so. Bayonets, stakes on the plains, these yuccas have been named in history. For us, however, our Pale-leaf Yucca are our cousins that enliven the daily family reunion we have with nature.
Sage to Meadow ~ Jack Matthews 