Buckeyes

I love springtime at Arrowhead, especially the little gully just south of the big beaver pond that fills with the blooms of spring ephemerals in March and April: Mayapples, Sweet Betsy, Foam Flower, Wild Geranium, Star Chickweed -- as well as lots of Red Buckeye trees from tiny sprouts to good sized trees..

Buckeyes blooming at Arrowhead.

 Several years ago I noticed a tiny Buckeye trying to establish itself right in the middle of the path I was trying to clear, so rather than lopping it, I "rescued" it for my own yard. It actually bloomed this year and set two fruit. 

Here is that transplanted Buckeye...

...and here you can see its first two fruits...

...and today the one dropped to the ground and I went ahead and took its sibling.   They are not good for eating, as a matter of fact are mildly poisonous, but Native Americans leeched the poison from them in water then pounded them to meal (as they did with acorns) to make an edible paste. Oldtimers say, though, that it ts a good idea to carry one in your pocket, for luck.