Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Seed flurry


The sound is reminiscent of small hailstones hitting the unyielding surfaces of man-made objects – the hoods of the car, the roof and skylights of the house.

Then it stops for a bit...

A breeze rustles the branches of the trees, and another flurry of maple tree seeds helicopter down spinning wildly as they fall and breaking apart when they land.

Unlike so many years since we have lived here, this year, once Spring arrived, there was no hard frost to kill off tender blossoms or interfere with the production of pollen or seeds.
 
It seemed to happen overnight. The tips of the trees went from this…


To this..

To this… 


and just a few days later the seeds are beginning to turn golden and fall to the ground.

Everything is on overdrive, it seems…

The joy of life of being alive… the display of nature’s fecundity (it’s not a dirty word, honest). 

No wonder people tend to want to go a little crazy at this time of year.

5 comments:

Oklahoma Granny said...

All of nature this year seems to be in overdrive!

Donna. W said...

Cliff calls those seeds "helicopters".

Tami Weingartner said...

Love helicopters....my Grandpa would always spend time with me collecting them up and relaunching them in the air for my amusement.

P.S. I was then....and am now....easily...amused.

Far Side of Fifty said...

Lovely progression in your photos..I had to look up that new word:)

Jenny Woolf said...

That's very strange. I don't know anything about maples, but surely the seeds should happen in the autumn, after the plants have flowered? Or are those green things the flowers?
Puzzling ...hope I don't seem too stupid....