The Landing

Outside on a comfortable–warm, in fact–February afternoon, chasing the earliest emerged native bees in my garden and with some success, I spied this charming scene:

I like that the seed balances on the slender arm of a Globe mallow, Sphaeralcea ambigua, and appears steady and content, perky and upright.

I wonder, though, is it satisfied with the landing? Afterall, this particular seed is from an American Sycamore, Platanus occidentalis, and the goal of the wind-driven reproductive morsel is terra firma–which it missed by about 18 inches. The achene, with attached propelled pappus, was driven from a nearby mature sycamore by puffs or bluffs of wind. Who knows when the seed landed on the mallow, probably recently, but is it eager to be whooshed by air or washed by rain to the ground for continuation of the adult sycamore’s legacy?

The Globe mallow ignores the seed–it has its own blooming and reproduction to consider.

How many of us land like the seed, or ignore those who land around us? How does that impact the course of life?

Joining in today with Anna’s Flutter and Hum and her wonderful Wednesday Vignette. Please pop over for garden, nature, and other musings.

15 thoughts on “The Landing”

automatic gardener on February 20, 2019 at 7:41 am said:

Questions to consider today.

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- Tina on February 20, 2019 at 12:30 pm said:
  
  And everyday. 🙂
  
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shoreacres on February 20, 2019 at 7:45 am said:

That’s a wonderful photo. The seed’s ballerina-like pose is delightful, of course, but the colors are unusual and appealing, too, and as delicate as your phrasing of the underlying point of your post.

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- Tina on February 20, 2019 at 12:32 pm said:
  
  Thanks–I really like it. Funny, I appreciate your balletic reference to the tutu form of the seed: I thought something more mechanical, a propeller! I guess I was (am?) in the same place as the seed–or the mallow?
  
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annamadeit on February 20, 2019 at 11:08 am said:

“How many of us land like the seed, or ignore those who land around us?” Well, that’s a REALLY good question, Tina! Thanks for devoting one of your marvelous photos to my little meme!

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- Tina on February 20, 2019 at 12:33 pm said:
  
  Yes, it is. I imagine we’ve all had that feeling/thought at some time or another. I’m happy to join with your meme–I always look forward to it!
  
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Beth @ PlantPostings on February 20, 2019 at 8:19 pm said:

Good idea for a vignette. I often wonder about the stories of plants and seeds, too. …What has it seen, where will it go, how will it perform in the future? This is a thoughtful post.

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- Tina on February 20, 2019 at 9:01 pm said:
  
  Thanks, Beth. Birds and beasts, too. What are their stories? What are their days like? No anthropomorphism here! 🙂
  
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gardeninacity on February 22, 2019 at 8:04 pm said:

Really nice capture. I’m guessing that seed is just taking a breather before heading off on the next stage of the journey.

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- Tina on February 23, 2019 at 7:44 pm said:
  
  Thanks, I think I probably agree. I mean to check on the situation, and keep forgetting. Tomorrow!
  
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plumdirt on February 23, 2019 at 1:17 pm said:

Hello, seed.
Hello, mallow.

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- Tina on February 23, 2019 at 7:45 pm said:
  
  They look like they’re getting along.
  
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  - plumdirt on February 23, 2019 at 10:06 pm said:
    
    Quite. Like old acquaintances passing each season.
    
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  - Tina on February 24, 2019 at 7:53 pm said:
    
    I’m pretty sure this isn’t the first time.
    
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Beth @ PlantPostings on February 26, 2019 at 4:13 pm said:

Interesting questions you pose…I will have to give this some thought. Thanks for the challenge! The photo is beautiful, and seed dispersal is always fascinating!

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