Down into the dirt

We have dandelions in our yard. Their fluffy white heads sway merrily in the breeze and new ones keep popping up out of thin air to join the party. It's the only party on our street, and I think that's what's drawing them to our house. A vicious circle.

I spent some time uprooting a couple along the house, and you would think I was trying to pull a log out of the ground. Innocent little plants, delicate leaves the size of my thumb, yet harboring thick, wormy roots that burrowed deep into the soil. Some of the tiny plants I uprooted had roots longer than the length of my hand. They dangled like worms.