Monday, October 25, 2010

Spiny Death Ball Season Is Here.


As if there aren't enough reasons to be crabby about the end of summer, the trees officially have started their nine-month spiny death ball shedding season. I'm not sure what these woody little spheres on a stem are actually called. I think they're probably some kind of seed-pod, but I'm too lazy to look it up. Nasty way for a tree to propagate its species, if you ask me. Which neither the trees nor the arborists of yesteryear who planted them in my neighborhood clearly did NOT.

These horrid little fuckers fall out of the trees for what seems like nine months of the year.

And now for my List of Reasons to HATE Spiny Death Balls:
~ You can slip on them and twist (or break!!) your ankle;
~ They hurt when you step on them barefoot/with the side of your sandaled foot;
~ YET MORE CRAP TO RAKE; and
~ Every fucking once in awhile, on your VERY LUCKY DAY, one will fall from a tree while you're walking under it, directly ONTO YOUR HEAD. Ouch.

To be fair and balanced, here is my List of One Reason to LIKE Spiny Death Balls:
~ You can have a Spiny Death Ball fight and throw them at your boyfriend. However, Boyfriend has much better aim, and is stronger, so he can throw harder and farther. Therefore, it's usually a losing battle.

Final analysis:
Spiny Death Balls suck.

3 comments:

  1. I think they're from sycamore trees?

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  2. hah! i have one of those trees over my driveway (in the neighbor's yard) and many times in the morning as i'm leaving, one will hit the car and scare the shit out of me.

    i have to keep reminding myself that nature is beautiful...though boyfriend hates it (he lovingly parks his car under it where it frequently gets shat on).

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  3. I believe they are: Liquidambar styraciflua from both the discription, pictures, and Urban Dictionary though Urban Dictionary also points to: Acer saccharum

    I hear they annoy you, whatever the name is.

    BTW, I am writing about my summer 2010 bicycle trip from Sacramento ending up in Glacier National Park at http://rkmlai.LiveJournal.com . I have been feeling sick however for a while so haven't appreciated the 'monkey balls' (as the name I know the seed pods as) on the ground this season, yet.

    Peace,

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