Page 10 - Barbecue News DEC 2020 Digital Issue

bbq therapy
Ardie Davis
aka Remus Powers BBQ Hall of Famer ardiedavis@kc.rr.com
Kansas City temperatures have finally dropped to typical fall/pre-winter lows. Before bundling up to finish a New Year’s Resolution project before 2020 is history, I checked my email inbox. Kell’s deadline notice for the December Barbecue News popped up. Time to get serious about select- ing a topic that best fits the season.
Aside from raking leaves, spreading winter fertilizer on the lawn, stocking up on bird food, installing a heater in the bird bath, cleaning my Webers and making sure dry leaves and other flammables are a safe distance from my barbecue sanctuary, my December priority is to finish removing win- ter creeper from our backyard.
If you’re not familiar with winter creeper, it’s a very hardy green leafy vine that thrives in all seasons and provides or- namental ground cover and foliage on fences and trees. Check Wikipedia for further info if you’re interested. I call it Kansas City Kudzu.
The downside of winter creeper is that it gradually takes over where it is planted and spreads far, wide and tall. It started in Kansas City during the middle of the last century as the city expanded to suburbs. Brookside and Prairie Vil- lage homeowners in Missouri and Kansas, respectively, are said to be responsible for introducing winter creeper to Kansas City in the 1950s. Since then it has spread in yards and public greenspaces, crowding out native plant species that butterflies, honey bees and other pollinators depend on.
The creeper ingeniously multiplies by sending vines up trees and fences, where it produces berries birds eat and spread seeds in droppings throughout the city. Creeper vines even- tually choke the life out of host trees—hickory, pecan, oak and maple, for example—destroying habitat and sustenance for native wildlife and Homo sapiens Barbecuis aka back- yard, commercial, and competition barbecuers.
The toll winter creeper takes on our native plants, pollina- tors, wildlife and hardwoods is why I care about the seem- ingly overwhelming long-term task of eliminating the creeper from the Kansas City environment, one vine at a time.
My awareness began when Gretchen and I joined a group of
Global Barbecue Therapy
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DECEMBER 2020
neighbors in a volunteer initiative to revitalize a small pub- lic park nearby that is a gateway to our first ring suburban community. The park is overrun with winter creeper and other invasive plants. When we discovered that our own yard has been invaded, I resolved to grab some tools and rid our yard of the invader.
The days of my youth when a full day of outdoor work did not exhaust me are long gone. Now, after two hours I’ve up- rooted enough winter creeper to fill two large paper yard waste bags and I’m done for the day. It may take most of the month, but I’ll persist until the job is done before Christmas.
Besides helping restore a tiny piece of former Kansas prairie so native plants, pollinators, wildlife and barbecue can thrive, this project has another personal benefit. Working outdoors gives me time for solitude and contemplation. It’s a mix of tedious work and therapy, but mostly therapy. Given today’s stressful times, yardwork and barbecue is essential therapy for me. There’s something about working outdoors with nature’s grit, dirt, give and take, that feeds the soul. Same goes for inhaling the primal therapeutic aroma of a hickory-fueled meat fire.
A wish for Global Barbecue Therapy is where I’m going with this. The barbecue community stands tall as a beacon of unity and camaraderie before, during and after intense competition. When a contest is over and calls for awards begin, winners are cheered by one and all. When the Grand Champion is announced, cheers, noise-makers, and shouts of “Congratulations!” and “Way to go!” rise to a loud crescendo.
The Barbecue Kingdom is a heterogeneous mix of different values, religions, genders, incomes, occupations, formal and hard knocks education, regions, colors, cultures, styles of cooking, and more. Above all we have a shared passion for barbecue, for helping others in need, and a mutual respect for one another. That’s one thing I think about while uproot- ing invasive winter creeper and wishing Barbecue Therapy on our troubled nation and planet. This is the season of peace on earth and good will to all. We in the Barbecue Kingdom will continue to lead by that example. Keep calm, season the season with good cheer and carry on!