Tumbleweeds

What if tumbleweeds are probes sent by extraterrestrial intelligence to explore the earth? If so, they're not getting much more than traffic conditions on I-76, after which they get stuck in a fence line.

It's always interesting driving through what my husband calls "tumbleweed country" on a windy day, having the same experience as every gunslinger in the old west during that tense moment in a duel when their wits and weapons were about to decide which of them were about to get outta Dodge.

It's fun to spot tumbleweeds as they hop across the plains on their wind-driven journey. Do they make it unmolested across both westbound and eastbound traffic? Do the scaredy cats driving luxury vehicles weave and juke to avoid them? Do they get ripped apart in the undercarriage of an SUV or get lodged in the front grill of a minivan?

Whoever those intelligent extraterrestrials are, you have to give them credit for their spying techniques. It would be interesting to see the results of this long-term observation project. I wonder if they're also the ones behind those burrs that get stuck in your socks.