It's bland, like undoctored oat bran. T.R. licks his hand clean. Peeled, they yield a white crunchy vegetable stick, edible either raw or cooked. He's heard that you can eat the roots, but his own experiences in that department have been poor. Too many fibers.
Water hyacinths cover the rest of the pool.
Most of the world considers them a noxious, waterway-clogging weed, but here in Helen's yard, their round waxy leaves look innocuous and downright ornamental. T.R. likes to eat them steamed, like spinach, and he says that they make fabulous compost, the world's best green manure. Helen keeps them mainly to discourage neighborhood kids from swimming. In a pavement crack next to the pool, T.R. spots oxalis, a little green cloverish plant with yellow flowers and fruits that look like Barbie-sized okra. Some people call it wood sorrel, and it tastes lemony, like the sorrel you buy in gourmet stores.