My pockets runneth over

I hope everybody had a lovely day. I thought I would share mine with you and maybe you would share some of your tree adventures.

Mine started out that way. I woke up and had two cups of coffee and was ready to take on the day. Then I realized, oh geez, it was daylight savign time and I forgot to turn my clock head.

It's a good thing I am an early bird and one of those people who panics if I am not on time or a little bit early. I start racing aroudn like a fool getting me ready, gathering everything up I would need for class, and making me two more cups of coffee for the journey to school.

I hop in the car only to realize I forgot to get gas. Fudge!!!!!!!! The nearest gas-station is a half hour away. All the way there I am thinking about what I need to do today and guess I zoned out somewhere alogn the way, and I missed my turn. Back tracking and hoping against hope that I can make it to the station , I drive slow. Now I don't know if it is true for sure our not, but I head somewhere, sometime, from somebody that the slower you go the less gas you will use. So slow, I went, much to the disatisfaction of the cars behind me. Won't tell ya about all the weird looks and horn honkign I got. I pulle d the sunvisor down in the dark, hoping to hide my embarrassement. I need to get update d on hand gestures cuz I saw some this morning I sure didn't know.

Now when I get in the car, I have a stick shift. I hold one cup of coffe e in my hand while I drive and the other to-go cup I keep in my lap. By the time I get to the gas station the first cup is done, and I have the s econd for the rest of the trip, which lasts me til I hit the parkign lot.

Now, I so busy watching the fuel gauge way down in the red, when I spot the gas station, I whip my poor little antique of a car in there and open the door and jump out. As I stand up fully, I suddendly have this wet feeling running down my legs. Dang. I forgot about the cup of coffee in my lap. I'm soaked, my car seat is soaked, and my cup laying on the ground. I chewing myself out for being such a fool, and hea d in to pay for my gas. Figures, the line is long with everybody else gettign mornign coffee and sausage biscuits to go. There I stand for ten minute s in my coffee /sugar coated jeans lookign for all the world like I wet my pants. My rump is soaked.

Bout this time, I ready to say the heck with it, miss class and head home, but nope not gonan do it, cuz I on a seed mission for somebody and I gonna collect their tree seeds before they all gone.

I get to the parkign lot, only to discover I let all my change at home in my other pants pockets. Which means I also can't go to the BBQ hous e and get me another cup of coffee to drink. Now those folks who know me , know I do not function with out my coffee. Anythign less than about 20 cups a day and I am having major withdrawl symptoms. I'm not a happy camper by this time, so off to class I go, only to fidn the professor has some throat problems and can't speak and class is cancelled. Ok, I not happy that I made over a thre e hour drive for nothing, but then remembered the tree seeds, so the day not all lost.

I starting hiking for about a half hour and by sure was nice. The Magnolias, Red Buds, Dogwoods and Cherries were all in bloom from the warm spell and even saw a line of Bradford Pears. That looke d beautiful after such dull winter colors. On the way I spot a Sweet Shrub bush. Cool!!!!!! I am envisioning more butterfly food. I gotta have them. About this time, I realized that I left home without my baggie s to collect seed with and have no purse, no bookbag, nothing with me. No way was I gonna leave and not get these seed, becaus e I knew by the time I got back tommorrow they would probably be gone.

Today of all days, I have the tight jeans on. I start cramming seed pods into my pockets anyways. Now my pockets are only so deep and yes I was being a pig. I wasn't gonan leave until I coudl get as many of them in my pockets as I could. I am now not only walkign around with wet pants I have my backside and front pockets makign me look like deformed creature from all the funky bulges. Hey, I don't care, let folks stare. I got me some seeds!!!!!! : ) Oh Happy Day!!!!!!!

I finally get to the tree I came to gather seed from and start gathering it up, only to realize I got handfuls of seed and no place to put it. I look to my feet and realize d that I was in such a hurry this mornign I forgot socks. Socks do work in a pinch for seed carrying. Can't use my shoe s cuz I got sandels on.

Then the brilliant idea hits me, I'll just go to where I know a restroom is and grab some paper towel. Double Fudge!!!!!!! The darn paper holder is jammed and no amount tryign to wiggle my fingers or beat and the crank is gonan give me some paper. Then I get the brilliant idea to us e toliet paper. I grab me a little bit and head back to the tree. Quickly I discovered that the few little square s I got is not gonna hold the amount of seed I want to collect, nor can I fold it so that the seed I do have doesn't fall out. Back to the bathroom I hike. This time I decided to borrow the whole roll. Figured, I used what I need and then carry the rest back and wash my hands.

I get back to the tree and unroll some of the toliet paper on the ground. I trie d to make it overlap enough so that I would have a square of some sorts. I get busy collecting seed and so happy that I gonna make somebodys day with these. I gather what I figure good amount for them bit for me. I fold my catch up and pick up the rest of the tp roll and stuff it under my arm while I busy makign sure that I got all the corners tucke d in on my package and I not losing any seeds. About this time I trip over one of them nasty ground vines with the teetth that bites your ankles when your not looking. I yelp and down I go, my whole concern is not to lose all thes e tiny seeds I just gathered. I land on the package and it trying to come apart. Whew!!!! The seed s are safe.

I secure it. Check out the teeth marks ringing my ankle from the vine and look for the tp roll to pick up. As if I hadn't had enough embarrasment for today, there goe s the tp rolling down the hill I on and heading for the boggy area. Here I go lookign the fool chasing it not realizing that other folks is watchign me til I hear chuckles and snickers coming from left field. Great, because in my mind I suddenly imagine the Charmin toliet paper bears commercial and just knew thes e folks thought that I was trying to do it like the bears do it in the woods and ha d lost my tp. With my wet pant legs it sure wasn't looking too good. I debated whethe r to try and explain or ignore. Figure d they probably wouldn't beliv e me so forgot them and concentrated on getttign the tp back.

I go to step and reach for the roll only to discover that it pure bog muck under the leaves I standing on. I now have mud and ooze and who know s what other icky critters all between my toes. EWWWWWWWW.. Gross!!!!!!!! YUCK!!!!!! And too boot, yy sloshing has just now put the tp in a position where it sucke d up the rest of the mud. Just great.

I hike. back to bathroom determined to return the roll. I get there and the roll isn't lookign all nice and clean anymore. It ain't lookign to cool period, but ther e wa s one little section that looke d white still , so I put it on the back of the toliet. White side sticking out. Hopefully if somebody needs it they will realiz e that it just mud and not used and recycled til I can replace it with a new roll tommorrow. No way was I gonna go into the grocery store and buy some more. My dignity has taken all the beatign it can for today.

I am happy to report I finally got the seeds home. Of course I still can't sit comfortably yet on the chair. I sitting half on half off. Seems I forgot all them seed pods I cramme d in my back pockets when I went to sit in the car. If you've ever seen Sweet Shrub pods ya know why I now nursing bruises in some tender spots.

Anybody wanna share some highlight s of their tree experiences????

Starlight,

You had WAY more fun than I did. I was short on sleep last night and felt groggy all morning, even after my cup of coffee at 10:00. The weather was so nice I just had to get out of the office and do some real work. The workday ended much better than it started. I got home from work and sitting on my kitchen table is my morning cup of coffee, as full as when I poured it. Talk about tired, I'd forgotten to drink my coffee! This sort of thing usually doesn't happen until late May after a super busy spring. I'll have to remember the socks trick for seed collection. Pretty resourceful!

Regards,
Ernie

I tend to dress in shades of coffee and my clothes don't wear out - they just finally get too stained to wear.

I was ticked this morning that I had to go to work in the dark again, after finally getting to see sun before work. Stupid daylight savings time.

Anyone have the cliff notes to that?

Awww, all that for my little ole elm seeds, how sweet. LOL

I tried some collect some Jujube seeds yesterday that were hanging in the top part of the tree. After getting stuck with those viscous thorns about five times I quickly gave up.

Ernie... Socks do work really good in a pinch. You can cram lots of stuff in the too. Growing up we never had them fancy Christmas stockings. My mom always used to hang my Dad's man size socks up. Always had an orange in the toe. That where that brillant idea came from. Also pant cuffs work sometimes too if ya have on the regular type. If you roll the cuff up , you can put small acrons around and then roll them up again a time or too to hold them. Works good if ya don't mind walkign around with highwater pant legs .

StPaulPeg... LOL.... Maybe I should just get me some kacky colored jeans and tee shirts, or take everythign I got and die it brown. I have to figure out the reason behind Daylight saving time. e stil only have 24 hours in a day. Just cuz time change s my body knows what time it gonan go to bed reglardles s of what the clock says.

I wa s just starting to enjoy the drive to school too. In the morning the world is so peaceful and I take the longer way to school so I can enjoy the scenery. It nice to se e the bare tree limbs that you've been looking at all winter finally start to peek out their new growth. I love seeing the sunrise reflect on the trees. Everything so looks peaceful and beautiful. It like watchign a miracle as you se e some these very old trees that been slumbering burst forth to grow on another season. I feel sorry for thos e folks that have to live in parts of the world where there are no trees. I gotta have my trees.

CoreHHI .... (giggles... and more giggles)

Escambi. What in the world is a Jujube tree? Only Jujube's I know are then tiny hard little pieces of candy ya used to be able to get when you went to the movie theaters. They were guarrented to break a tooth if ya bit them the wrong way. For them seeds I want and have trouble getting to I got me one of them paint brush handles and the extension pieces. Works really good if they seeds ya can knockdown. Nothign more frustrating than seeing seed s ya want at the top and being unable to get them. Sometimes I think trees get pleasure in teasing us and laughing at us as we try and get to them. Ya can just imagine the whipsering going on betwen the trees as they watch ya jumping up and down, wavign your arms in the air as you try and get them.

Look up Ziziphus zizyphus

Jujube = Pain LOL

Back when I was unemployed, collecting seeds was like my unpaid job. I'd go around like I really had a purpose. I have gotten to my destination to get seeds several times and I had forgot my dollar store baggies, I'd usually use an old fountain drink cup in their stead. I'm a bachelor, my car is always loaded with trash. I never had much trouble getting them. Other than the suspicion that I'm sure I raised when I was reaching high up in a tree, bending down the branches, circling the tree etc, casually looking up in the tree, my seed collecting went off without a hitch. I remember several years ago when I was at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha Neb., it was just so tempting to get all these ripe seeds that were hanging down right in front of me on the walk at the aviary in August. I filled my pockets with these seeds, you know what they were? Ailanthus. I got home and emptied out my pockets like I was carrying secret documents. I looked at the seeds, thought for a minute "wait, what did I do here? These are Ailanthus, this tree is an invasive pest." I think I ended up microwaving them or throwing them in the mayor's yard! Just kidding! I wouldn't throw them in the mayor's yard!
I'd usually gather acorns or something much more valuable.
And then, I'd plant them. As if I was raising trees for a nursery. People'd ask me "so what are you going to do with all of them"? I didn't really have an answer I suppose. I used to have seeds in soft drink cups and solo cups!
It was really a good experience, all my seed growing. I've even bought ten pickup truck loads of soil for all my pots. I had gone quite berserk with potted plants. Even now they number around 2 hundred, in pots.
At one time they numbered around 5 hundred. I've literally given away truckloads of potted plants to friends, co-workers, anybody who needed and wanted some. I've always taken care of them. I wasn't like an overzealous multiple (50 or 100) cats owner for example, I always watered them, kept them in pots for their size, put them in the sun etc.
Nowadays, I'm trying to thin them way down so I can get moved. I'm moving into a mobile home. I don't know if you've ever seen the yards in a mobile home, but they are quite small. I plan only to take twenty or so plants with me, mainly for my own landscaping purposes. I still have the plant bug in a big way. I am very excited about the coming of Spring. I've been clinging to a full-time job for the last plus 2 1/2 years. I'm trying more to prioritize
presently. I'll never forget the days though where I'd walk thru woods to get seeds or seedlings or just to look at trees. I am toning it down quite a bit at the present. I still collect a few seeds and all that, just not so much in a driven laborious panic!
Hey the tp rings a bell with seeds, but I used it on my seeds in quite a different way! Okay, I once wrapped up a handful of American Sycamore seeds (hundreds) with a rock in tp and threw them into my friends creek bank. I haven't been there to see if they ever grew, but I'd know, because there weren't any Sycamore trees there before.
Maybe this year I'll go back there and have a look for them.
Will

Compared with the mania of collecting seeds (and I am infected, btw), the obsessed, possessed, lazer-like focus required to keep chipmunks out of seed pots is truly consuming.

I've had a few adventures in my pursuit of those tantalizingly available ripe seeds, but nothing quite like Starlight's. What an image!

Scott

Last fall while I was on one of my evening walks I came upon a wild persimmon loaded with fruit. There were none on the ground so I had to shake the tree to get some to fall. Cars were going by and there I was on the side of the road like some hungry bear trying to get to the fruit. I bet everyone driving by was thinking "aww that poor thing". LOL Oh' well, at least I get three seedlings coming up now.

Will.... I got such a chuckle out of your " secret document seeds". Between me and a couple of friends we gathered up close to 5,000 Sapium sebiferum seeds. Such a cute looking tree. Had visions of planting and sellings hundreds of those seeds, til came here and found out really invasive they are. Destroyed most of them, but still have a few hundred packaged and preserved in the fridge. Never know, the day just might come when they start becoming endangered. ( ya right, like that ever gonna happen) LOL

Will:

Isn't that the best zoo you have ever visited? Great place with great landscaping to boot.

Kevin(who grew up in Omaha)

I'm sorry, this thread slipped by me.
Yeah, they were secret documents alright! I remember when I was stuffing those seeds in my pockets this lady was watching me like I was really doing some vandalism, if I remember right her jaw was open with disgust.
All my seed collecting and growing from seeds has been very educational for me.
Yeah, The Henry Doorly zoo is the best that I've been to. Which isn't much, I've only been to 2! But everybody that I know really likes it there. Me and some family members go there at least every year or two. I mean regular zoo-goers, we have zoo passes and all.
Will

The other day I stopped at the BBQ house to grab a cup a coffee and a bacon biscuit smuthered in strawberry jam for breakfast. On the way into the building I noticed that the rain and wind had covered all the steps in a lovely golden carpet of Japanese Maple seeds.

Now I couldn't let all thos e lovely seeds be squished under uncaring peoples feet, so out of the bag goe s my breakfast on to the sidewalk next to my cup of coffee that has 4 and half teaspoons of sugar in it.

I know folks driving by must have thought I wa s crazy out there moving systematically along and up the steps tryign to scoop seeds up with a folded piece of notebook paper which is all I ha d with me to use.

I was wearing such a big smile thinking what a great way to start the day with some fresh seeds til..........

While I wa s busy gathering seeds and thinkign of all the little Japanes e Maple seedlings that gonna emerge, out of nowhere a herd of ants decided to scoop up my breakfast. I picked up my ant biscuit and squacked and squeeked all the way to the trash can while trying to keep the little bugger s from bitign me.

I get back and go to pick up my coffee and didn't notice til I almost swallowed them that the black moving on my coffee lid was more ants. Thought I might be able to just knock the one s on the top off and still have my cup of java. No such luck. There they was all marching on the inside . GRRRRRRRRR

I'll share my plants, my seeds but I do not share my coffee. There was no time to get more, but at least I have seeds. : )

One of the Japanese Maples was from the cultivar " Bloodgood' so I kind a wondering what the seedlings are gonna turn out to be.

My experience from growing lots of JM seeds is that you will get a hodgepodge of characteristics in the seedlings. But, if you are growing a bunch from Bloodgood, you will get at least several that are purple. If you are growing a bunch from Ever Red, you will get at least some laceleaf reds. If you are growing some from "Viridis," plenty will be green dissectums. All that said, I have never seen a JM seedling I didn't like. They all are cool.

Scott

Scott.... Thanks for the information. That gonna give me something more to look forward too. I hope a good number of these germinate.

Resin... We gave that a try and gave up on it. We started boiling them down and boiled and boiled and even from all we did there wouldn't have been enough wax to grease a small mustache. You's need 5,000 trees to just make one small candle. it was givign it a try but cost more for the water , gas and time than it was worth. Wonder if folks who first discovered this reaized what a pain it was.

Can't be nearly as much pain as removing all those darned Sapium seedlings.

Starlight, one of the winged elm seeds you sent me sprouted yesterday. If I get one good tree out of all those seeds, I will be a happy man.

Escambi.... Cool. That was fast. Hope you get more than one out of them 2,000 LOL. How did you sprout yours? I haven't had a chance to get to mine yet, been busy transplanting and raking Oak and Hickory leaves and until the cold is over afraid to try and do anything much.

I do have a few Sapium trees in pots. ( ducks ) I been taking three seedlings and wrapping them together and in a braid. Looks cool for now anyways, but have no ide a what they will look like when they get bigger or if they will even survive. Just another one of thos e experiments I had to try.

If you or anybody else wants a few of these Japanese Maple seeds just DM me glad to share whatever I got. If it warms up about another 20 degrees may go make the drive and go collect somemore, but this time taking a little broom and dust pan to scoop them up with.

I filled a shallow old dish with potting soil and mixed a bunch of the seeds in it. When I saw that one seed sprouting, I gently scooped it out with a spoon and put it in it's own cup.

I have found Japanese Maple seeds to be quite temperamental. Out of all that I collected a couple years ago (or more), only one sprouted, and it perished over the Winter. But boy, did it ever look nice. It was blood red. It came from a Japanese Maple 'Bloodgood' at a nearby McDonalds. From what I hear though, and unfortunately have seen at nurseries is that Japanese Maples 'Bloodgood' grown from seed are inferior to grafted ones. The ones grown from seed are greenish in the Summer, as compared to the more expensive grafted ones at nurseries, are red all year. I was surprised at the number of 'Bloodgood' for sale everywhere that is grown from seed.
However, if I could grow one for myself I thought that would be great. I tried to grow 'atropurpureum' from seed but none sprouted.
Will

Would you like some more seeds to try Will? Will be glad to send ya some to try and sprout again. When I get a chance, wil have to take a look at the tre e and se e if it was a grafted one or not since you mention about the color. I know the seed this one came off of is red all year round.

I did notice while looking at thes e seed, on a few they have a deeper red coloring on the wing surface close to the seed part. Wonder if that make s any differenc e as to what may or may not emerge.


Escambi. AWWWWW look at your new baby. : ) Hope he grows big and strong.

No thanks starlight. I went a little overboard before trying to grow stuff here and I have kinda been asked to clean the place up.
If your parent tree is red all the time its likely a good one, but the seeds from it wouldn't be unless you are fortunate and sprout a seedling that stays red.
Will

I guess one of my sillier tree stories is the time I was running errands in town and decided to swing into a nursery for a few minutes (just to look of course!) I found a good sized pair of kousa dogwoods at a great price, just what I wanted since I wasn't sure of their hardiness here and wanted to try them without spending too much money. They were such a great price that I was worried that they wouldn't still be there if I came back later . . . so I bought them. My vehicle, however, was a two seater convertible with a tiny trunk. I put down the top, wrapped my self up in a warm coat since it was a chilly day, and plonked to two trees down on the passenger side with the tops hanging out over the back of the seat. I got some interesting reactions as I drove slowly home via the back roads, but I got my trees home in good shape and have thrived since.