Kudzu, the nightmare weed that gobbled the South, is disappearing.

Slowly, inexorably, the scientists, foresters, farmers, goats and sheep are gaining the upper hand on the slinky, creepy green vine that makes abandoned homes and utility poles disappear seemingly overnight.

“It’s in retreat,” said Jim Miller, a somewhat retired research ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service in Auburn, Ala., nicknamed Dr. Kudzu.

Yet kudzu's decline is difficult for a Southerner to grasp. The "mile-a-minute vine" has inspired poets, musicians, playwrights and science-fiction enthusiasts.

Read more about the vine that didn't eat the South here.

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The shooting happened at a townhouse community on Celeste Lane, just outside I-285.

Credit: Atlanta Police Department

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Waymo autonomous vehicles operate across 65 square miles inside I-285 and have been involved in six incidents with Atlanta Public School buses since May. Waymo issued a recall because of their cars briefly stopping or slowing down before continuing forward while a bus was stopped and flashing its lights. (Courtesy of Atlanta Public Schools)

Credit: Courtesy of Atlanta Public Schools