Struggles writing my next column have left me staring out at the patio all hours of the day and night. My brain grinds with all the imagination possessed by the imported cabbage worms who just go forth and chomp. The caterpillars have denuded the Brussels sprout plants. Basically, they've created a masterpiece, "The Brussels Sprout Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even".
What's the deal with "denuded"? Shouldn't that mean putting your clothes back on? (2 a: to strip of all covering or surface layers) The cruciferous plants out back really need some fig leaves to cover their private parts! Spirits of art history assistant professors past, present, and future haunt my patio.
With my hero, the Big Frijole Anole, leaping around crunching caterpillars, there's enough action for "Denude Descending de Staircase".
I'm more curious than partisan in these events. The Dallas Museum of Art had a wonderful exhibit a few years back about Marcel Duchamp. I don't know how Duchamp felt about cruciferous vegetables' alleged ability to fight cancer. "Cruciferous" seems to mean plants with four-petaled flowers, and include broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, bok choy, Brussels sprouts, mustard, and cabbage.
I'll grow Brussels sprouts again next year for the Dada drama, not for the taste.
© 2009 Nancy L. Ruder
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