A WALK IN THE PARK part 2

Details, details, details. When I am out walking, as much as I love the big picture- hence the pictures yesterday of the gorgeous fall colors at Chism Park, I pay close attention to the small and mundane things around me. Some very interesting things caught my attention yesterday.

If you hear a HOOT, SCOOT.

Dive bombing owls???? Yikes! 

From "yikes" to "spikes"

I have no idea what kind of plant this is, I tried to identify it online without success.  The leaves are HUGE, much like Elephant Ears, but it is the spikes (either the fruit or the seed?) that caught my eye, they were 2 feet tall!! Then there are the pods these spikes grow out of- they look alien.

 

 

These pods were 8" across, making it kinda scary what might erupt out of it.  Reminds me of a movie.

 

And speaking of alien.......

 

What in the heck are these????

 

 Furbys???  Alien Hedgehogs???  There are hundreds of them !!!!

 

 

Each one was the size of my fist, and everywhere  I looked there were more...

 

 

The freaky part was because they were situated among leaves that were rustling in the breeze, it seemed like they, too, were moving.

 

On closer inspection, I noticed some were broken open and I realized they were only seed pods fallen off of a tree. But it certainly was a tree I had never seen before.  Which makes sense.  Who wants tree that fills their yard with spiky hand grenades every fall?

Here is a picture of one of the pods still in the tree showing it cracked open revealing a slimy nut inside the size of my thumb.  Something finds them delicious, because all of the ones on the ground were empty.  I took another picture showing the leaves of the tree.

Armed with this picture I went home to go online to the University of Washington's Arboretum website to do some research.  I identified this tree as a " Golden Chinkapin". I had never even heard of it before, and I had certainly never seen one before, and yet it was right next to a path I have probably walked 50 times oblivious to its existence.

I think that is what they mean when they say to stop and smell the roses. Take the time to really see the beauty you are surrounded with, it will delight and perhaps surprise you.