When we first got here we found one of these in our gutter. We discussed at length as to what this strange wrinkly, incredibly hard (I stomped on one and it didn't break!) thing could be. We then saw more at a local park we were exploring, but couldn't figure out if they came from a tree or bush. We did decide if it was a tree, we did not want to be walking underneath said tree when these suckers are falling off!
We did find one some very determined person manged to smash open and it looks like this.....
and smells like watermelon and cucumbers.
Then on one of the blogs I follow I noticed she had a bowl of them on her coffee table and had what they were written underneath the picture. Some internet searching later, I discovered that placed under your bed they supposedly kept spiders and other bugs at bay! The wood is also good for masts and fence posts as it is almost impervious to rot.
We went back to the park and went on an Osage Orange hunt!
After searching for a few minutes and only finding a few rotten looking ones, we were about to give up when we came upon the mother load!
The plants are also used for natural barbed wire as the smaller branches have rather long sharp thorns!
I can't wait to see this place in the summer, it's so pretty now, I can only imagine what it will all look like in the summer!
A bright green bug with a smiley face on it's back!
A pond with a cool looking water feature.
The happy hunters!
Here's a link to a Wikipedia page on this strange plant!
I have NEVER heard of "osage oranges" before! They sound like the answer to many of life's greatest problems, though!! I'm rather intrigued!
ReplyDeleteYay for the best tree! We used to go up to the mountains to cut our tree, but then as we all got older and the tree farms started producing trees that no longer seemed "perfect," we resorted to local tree lots. Although the place we go now is owned by friends and they always have wonderful trees! I love ornament shopping! I usually try and go out in the first few days after Christmas day, when all Christmas stuff goes massively on sale. That's when it's the best time for ornament finds!
There are actually two older siblings who are married and therefore not in the picture on my blog. So, the actual age range of ALL the siblings is from 36 to 13. And yes, it IS strange having a brother who's almost forty! He doesn't seem nearly that old, though. ;)
Those are completely new to me, surprise...NOT, seeing as how I live in the land were things do not grow. but if they keep spiders at bay I would travel there to hunt a few down.
ReplyDeleteThey look rather odd, like molded something or other. Kind of cool looking too. It is weird to think though that they grow in the States and it seems not many even know what they are. Can you eat them? How did you finally get one open?
Hm, good thing I don't live there - I'd be conducting experiments on them.
It looks like it might be getting cold there, or cooler. Does it rain a lot?