Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Tree question, yesterday's moon and todays birds.

There are a few trees like this in front of my school.  I googled, using the terms: "tree, sponge-like reddish-brown flower", and came up with nothing.  Does anyone know what it is? 
Close up of the "flower"
Here's last night's full moon, seen through one of the trees in my neighbor's garden.  
There was drama in front of me as I worked today at my desk.  Seagulls, crows and geese flapped and cried, as they chased an eagle.  I wondered what he or she did to get everyone so upset.  I was slow getting myself together, and my pictures were very poor, but here are two of the eagle.

This crow looks like it's singing, although that would be using the term loosely.
And I can't tell what is in this crow's mouth.  

5 comments:

  1. I've never seen anything remotely like that tree. I love it. It's its own tree. Not trying to be like any other.

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  2. I think it is a staghorn sumac, though I could be way off base. I agree with Cathy that it is most likely from the sumac family.

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  3. Indeed, that is the fruit of a staghorn sumac. It has lost all of its leaves for the winter, rendering it particularly ridiculous-looking.

    Does the crow maybe have a peanut in its shell?

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  4. Glad you love it, Ruby Isabella:)

    Thanks for the id, Cathy, Jean and dp. I did a little research, because I remembered that dp had identified a sumac that I had wondered about back in October. Now, I realize there are many different kinds. In fact, I'm wondering if that crow has white sumac berries in its mouth. It looks to me like some google pictures of Poison Sumac. Yikes, I walk around in that brush all the time. Hope I'm wrong! Could be a peanut in its shell, too, since apparently, the white berries are more likely to be found in Fall, but I've never, ever seen peanuts in that brush. Anyhow, really appreciate the responses! Amazing what I've learned to think about from bloggers.

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