What are they and how did I get them ?

[Corley5]

Pine nuts

[SwampDonkey]

Hmm, she must be camping under some big white pine and the seeds landed on the fabric, so she's been sweeping the fabric for white pine seed. :D Hmm, well didn't I mention that one before? Hmm, I think she's mess'n with us. ;D Look to be too big for white pine though. Hmm, gotta cogitate.

[SwampDonkey]

Well it's gotta be some kind of grain or weed seed. Not wheet, not barley, not oats and probably not rye. Hmmm I still think the seed is dropping on that fabric and she's harvesting it there. I'm wondering if its a sedge or rush seed.  :

[Texas Ranger]

OK, I'll go with maple, sugar or red.  Or box elder.

[sprucebunny]

Just for SD, another seed pic with dimes for size comparison ;D

You guys are getting colder and colder. The seeds have a noticable and pleasant smell. Guess I'm gonna have to just explain, eh?



Those are Canadian dimes in there ;D

[wiam]

I do not know what they are, but they are not maple.

Will

[Tom]

They aren't Mango either.  ;D

[BBTom]

They look like small Beechnut to me.

[SwampDonkey]

Are the seeds legal?  :D :D

[Riles]

Avocado. I understand they don't grow so big up north.

[Texas Ranger]

annis

[sprucebunny]

You guys are getting silly, now :D

Does this mean you give up ???

There is a new clue in the last picture ;D

[Tom]

The Canadian dimes?   You mean they are imported? :D

[Paul_H]

Abies balsamea ?

We have Abies amabilis which is commonly called Balsam
here and the pitch sure smells good!

[Modat22]

Mutant stick tites that came out of the dryer vent screen?

[SwampDonkey]

Well between Paul and I we've hit all the 'balsam', except one. ;D

Fraser Fir seed? ;) Once considered a variety of balsamea until the last few years. But it's native to the mountains in Va, TN, NC, and northern GA I think. But, it still isn't right for balsam as it should be more triangular in shape. I've never smelled much of an odor from softwood seed unless some pitch is attached. As I said earlier, she'd have to have mechanically removed the seed wings also, since they don't fall away as easily as spruce, tamarak, hemlock or pine. And that seed is two big for spruce, tamarak or hemlock.

Now anise seed (licorice) would be a good guess, but it resembles caraway seed, neither of which is pictured there.

She's having fun isn't she? :D What I wanna know is what she's using the seed for. ;)

[sprucebunny]

Paul, you got the seed right with balsam.
http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature/trees/abiesbal.html

It can't be any other fir as there are none in the area. As to the wings being missing, SwampDonkey, well .... that's the rest of the story ;D

Anyone hazard a guess ???

[Paul_H]

I'll hazard a couple of guesses 

1. Young sapthirsty kid next door has a cruel streak and pull the wings off of defenseless Balsam seed.

2. Mice have harvested winter food and you came across the cache in one of your machines or camper.

[SwampDonkey]

Sure fooled me on the balsam. They look bigger and lighter colored than my fir pictured. So, you going into the Christmas tree business? ;D

[SwampDonkey]

The schooner, 'Blue Nose', on the dime is a Nova Scotia emblom. The balsam fir is the official tree emblom of New Brunswick. ;)

[sprucebunny]

2. Mice have harvested winter food and you came across the cache in  your  camper.

Looks like you win a pint of balsam seed , Paul :D

The really amazing thing was that the little beasties stored the seed in a plastic bag. I looked in the cupboard and thought I'd left a bag of wheatberries 

A couple of weeks ago when I was there, I caught a mouse in the sink. That was the one that was running around my arm and I was yelling NO! at, like it was a bad dog :D

Besides the mouse having to collect the seed and chew the wings off, they have all been transported at least 50 yards because that's the closest balsam tree. That seems like a long ways for a little mouse!!!

So send me your address, Paul and I'll send you some balsam seed with a little mouse spit on it :D :D

I hope when Jeff gets back, he'll find some mouse smilies ;D

This was fun. Thanks, everyone 

[Paul_H]

Thanks SB,that was a lot of fun here too.  8)

We have an old motorhome and during one Winter a couple years back we stored it in the equipment shed of a local farmer and in the Spring we found a lot of Oats cached everywhere imaginable.   

[Tom]

So......   What is that poor, defenseless mouse gonna eat this winter, huh?   Or, did you send his saddle home? :D

[SwampDonkey]

It sure is amazing how busy those little creatures are. I went out directly under the crown of a balsam tree I planted years ago and was looking for some seed that had fallen from the tree top. I tell ya, even getting down on my hands and knees those seed are some hard to find, even with a wing on them. The only honest to goodness ones I found were still attached by sap to the cone scales. Now just imagine a tiny mouse that has to crawl all through the wet grass, moss and leaves to find those things. ;D  :  8)

[thurlow]

Well, does SB's story kind'a remind you of this? 

"A preacher visits an elderly woman from his congregation. As he sits on the couch he notices a large bowl of peanuts on the coffee table. "Mind if I have a few?" he asks. "No, not at all." the woman replied. They chat for an hour and as the preacher stands to leave, he realizes that instead of eating just a few peanuts, he emptied most of the bowl. "I'm terribly sorry for eating all your peanuts; I really just meant to eat a few." "Oh, that's all right." the woman says. "Ever since I lost my teeth all I can do is suck the chocolate off them anyway."