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69 Death Threat Lantana, man. Killing me. I love that the hummingbirds love it, little green blurs, winged thumbs wired on nectar, but this stuff is gangbusters. I can’t even see the irises anymore. Cut it back a foot on Monday, by Tuesday it’s two feet taller. Cut it to the stump and three stumps spring up. Once I thought if I could live where everything grows then I’ll let everything grow. Nice, but lantana doesn’t share its soil, not with irises nor sotol nor anything. Its leaves are toxic to cats. So, last ditch, I’m drilling a hole in the root and pouring like a pint of Round-Up in, the real stuff, paul text i-84 -3.indd 69 7/20/10 3:17 PM 70 birth defects in pigeons and carp, like a Buddhist monk sticking poisoned toothpicks into the wisteria consuming the temple. All out herbicide. And if it survives that liquid Satan after the stumping and drilling and cursing then screw it, man. It deserves to live. paul text i-84 -3.indd 70 7/20/10 3:17 PM ...

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