The scotch thistle is listed as a noxious weed in the Okanagan. The image below shows it after the first year of is growth. Now it’s ready to grow a tall stalk.

Of course, since it’s listed as a noxious weed, ie detrimental to cattle grazing, the regional government sends university students out to spray it with legal chemicals. I offer you this view of that half a year later in the image below. You might note the year-old plants ready to send up another stalk.

This is not only a waste of money but a crime against the Earth. Not only is the cattle industry inappropriate to this land, but it has largely died out, and the thistles have replaced the habitat of wavy thistles and a few dozen other flowers, that no longer exist on the hills, due to the cattle. Killing them now is terracide. Fortunately, as you can see above, it can’t be done. Sadly, it means that money and poisons are being administered for no gain at all except the miseducation of the young tasked with this work.

We need our young people to be caretakers not killers. We should be ashamed.