Powerpack

Today I woke very early and went out to the nature reserve.  No sign of anything moving, except a couple of blackbirds..  Never mind, after I got back and had brekkie, Hazel and I went for a short saunter and I brought back a pocketfull if green tree seeds. 

This is beech mast, as I'm sure you know.  The hairy bits on the outside harden and protect the seed when it finally falls from the tree in autumn.  Such brilliant engineering.  It's odd to think this tiny capsule (1 cm across?) contains all that's necessary to grow an enormous long-lived beech tree.  Well, apart from sun, water and soil, of course  ;))

Many thanks to wrperry for hosting TinyTuesday this month.  Have a good evening (when you get there)  xx