Osage Orange Dilemma
Yesterday I saw a woman taking all the osage orange fruit out from under this wooded area and making a pile on this disc golf course. I asked her what she was doing. She said she was cleaning up this trash. I told her this was part of the nature of the place and that there were wildlife that fed on these. She insisted that these were unsightly... In frustration I told her that there was human made trash all over the park and if she wanted to get rid of the unsightly, that would be a good place to help out. When I came back today, the pile was still there along with her bucket and a plastic bag... Guess maybe I discouraged her. Hope she takes up the idea of picking up Styrofoam cups etc. It becomes more obvious as I go along that people have very different ideas of what belongs in a natural area like a park.
Observations
Photos / Sounds
What
Osage-Orange (Maclura pomifera)Observer
taogirlDescription
this one merited a journal post
Comments
People get weird ideas. Do you see much eating osage oranges? I've heard the hypothesis is that the main animal that ate them was a giant ground sloth that went extinct during the last ice age.
Squirrells definitely eat them!
need to leave a sign for this! so people will understand "food for wildlife" leave it!!!!
the write up on iNat mentions the giant ground sloth but also squirrels today. I would understand cleaning some of them up in the grassy areas where kids play but this was from under an area that was all thick trees and bushes and not where people even need to be going. And we do have so much real trash, plastic bags, Styrofoam cups etc., just wish she would use her desire to beautify to ridding the park of this stuff.
Amen to that, Judith! It is that time of year again. The Osage orange are filling the trees. I hope she finds something else better to do with her time. Sadly, I think she is slowly having some cognitive problems. She will argue with you and try to get her way. She is a bit stubborn sometimes she is nice as well. I did see her empty a bunch of leaves and sticks into the back of a pickup truck one day. My husband said, What is she doing? She was even sneaky about it. She looked around first, like a little kid making sure all's clear. Lets hope for the best this fall.😜😳
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