Spring Pod Festival

Our Annual Spring Pod Festival on Burlington Street arrived last week with the maturing of seed pods aka samara from our remaining Silver Maple tree Acer saccharinum at the end of our driveway adjacent the street entrance. This maple tree is on its decline and will be removed before too much longer due to Verticillium wilt and at least one form of canker disease. The tree probably could have been saved but I guess due to my neglect of not having a professional tree surgeon or arborist remove the diseased limbs allowed the the slow decline of the tree. It's sister tree on the other side of the drive entrance was cut back last fall removing most of the dead tree structure but did not make a recovery from the surgeon's scalpel know as a Husqvarna chain saw. The balance of the dead tree will be cut down and replaced with a much faster growing and hardier tree and/or shrubbery.

Inserted are a couple pixs of the Silver Maple tree and it's fruit aka samara or seed pods for reference:

Since a small boy, even the smallest things of Nature has always sparked my interest raising many questions and most of the time there is a reasonable and logical answer if we take the time to "Look and Listen to Mother Nature" and do some research. Those samara or seed pods for the most part are a nuisance as far as stopping up gutter and drain lines and allowing small trees to grow in every place you do not want or need them. The root structure of the tree will also create havoc to road ways, sidewalks and if too close to a structure, will crack, lift and undermine the structure foundation. If you will notice, the seed pods have a flattened wing of fibrous, papery tissue that develops from the ovary wall and is a simple dry fruit and indehiscent (not opening along it's seam. The shape of the samara wing allows the seed pod to travel several hundred feet or more away from the parent tree in order to replenish the forest in a natural environment. The samara or seed pods also mature at different times as do most other fruit and nuts allowing their propagation or broadcast to continue for many weeks increasing the odds of a successful "planting".

This is not a good thing when used for yard shade or just part of the landscape structure since there will be literally thousands of the seed pods everywhere falling into the category of a nuisance and most of them will be deposited downwind depending on the wind direction at the time. When the wind is rather brisk, the seed pods will leave the tree and look like miniature helicopters, whirlybirds, whirligigs or in the New England area they call them a spinning jenny. It is the shape of the seed pods wing that allows it to stay aloft for such an extended time to make its journey away from the parent tree.

It is amazing how God has created things as simple yet as complex as seed pods that will allow the fruit to travel hundreds of feet in order to replenish itself. On a continued positive note, squirrels have an early spring food festival because they will harvest the seed pods on the tree and also those that have "flown" to the ground gorging themselves on the apparent delicious fruit!

As evidenced by the above pix, this Silver Maple has some serious health issues and as stated earlier will be removed and replaced with something else that grows much faster, hardier and probably of a flowering type. My bride will make that call for sure....grin if you must! The tree is at least half a century old and when cut down, I will count the annual grow rings to get the age of the tree.

Photographed, written and web published by Bill aka Mickey Porter 03-29-12.

LEAVING ON A SPIRITUAL NOTE

If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, please take this moment to accept him by Faith into your Life, whereby Salvation will be attained.

Ephesians 2:8 - 2:9 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Open this link about faith in the King James Bible.

Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

Open this link of Bible Verses About Salvation, King James Version Bible (KJV).

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

Micah 6:8 “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”

Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

IN GOD WE TRUST - GOD BLESS AMERICA - "FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE" JOHN 3:16 KJV