Sunday, April 19, 2009

Straight Out Of the Camera: Itchy Balls ...

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... that's what we called them as kids

they're a pain to clean up but these two looked very pretty to me so I took their portrait before I dug them out of the deck.



STRAIGHT OUT OF the CAMERA

21 comments:

maryt/theteach said...

They do have a sort of beauty, Dianne! :)

Jan said...

They look like liquidamber seed pods. I'm weird, I've always loved them.

bobbie said...

They look very interesting. I don't think they are the same as the seed balls on my plane tree. I think I'll go out and photograph a couple of those, and compare. Could be, but I don't think so. I'll let you know if they're the same. I never heard the name "itchy balls" before.

kden said...

I've seen those before! I work for a woman who used to live in Maryland and had the trees these came from. A few years she had her brother send her some so she could decorate them for ornaments. She calls them sticker balls but I like your name better, ha.

Loved your cat commentary below. I had a mother/daughter duo once who lived about the same way. Mom hated her daughter. If daughter was on the bed or our lap and mom wanted to be there, she would jump up, pop her daughter in the head and claim the space as her own. And they say people need therapy?

I haven't been to your blog in awhile, I missed it.

bobbie said...

with your permission, I'd like to use your picture in a post, comparing them with the ones from my tree. silly I guess, but there have been a lot of comments about them.

Daryl said...

This sounds like an Alec Baldwin skit on SNL .. I cant remember seeing them before .. like Bobbie I think they are related to the Plane tree seed pod balls

Dianne said...

mary - they do, I like the color and design

jan - I love the way they look, just don't like how they end up stuck everywhere

bobbie - feel free to use my photo! thanks
anything on my blogs is yours whenever you want it
itchy balls is very Brooklyn - no one outside has ever heard the term

kden - welcome back :)
and thanks for the story about the mom/daughter - that is funny and a bit sad for the daughter
I feel so bad for Siren sometimes - he looks at Mia with such longing and she returns it with a hiss and contempt

daryl - one of the best SNL skits ever!! I adore Alec

Linda said...

Wow! Those look like some darned huge itchy balls! Did you move to Texas or do they just grow 'em big in New Jersey? Those two look like they could bring on a whole lotta itch in a hurry!

Sherrie said...

Hi!
They look like the things that come off a buckeye tree. Great shot! Have a great day!!

Sherrie

fermicat said...

That reminds me -- I need to clean the gum balls up out of my back yard. No fun!

Laurie said...

They are uniquely pretty! neat picture!

EG CameraGirl said...

I didn't know they were a pain to clean up. All these years I've wished for such a tree because I think the balls look great in arrangements and decorations. Well, I learned something new!

bobbie said...

Well, Dianne, it looks like we have our answer. Both Laura and Doug have told us. Your "itchy balls" are the product of the sweet gum tree and my seed balls are from the plane tree which is in the sycamore family.

Yours are prettier by far. I can see why people would want them for decorative purposes.

To 2024, and beyond! said...

definitely looks itchy, LOL! =)

Hey Harriet said...

Great shot! Love the name for them :)

Tina said...

lol you know i wondered what you meant in the title at first!! here in UK the latter is a rude word used meaning mens testicals rofl!!

Unknown said...

We always called them porcupine eggs! And I was thrilled to see them here - much more thrilled than stepping on them in the yard - Ouch!

Staci said...

We call them sweet gum balls I think. Are they hard as a rock and you can't even smash them if you run over them in a car?

MyMaracas said...

Itchy balls? I love it!

Sycamore trees and sweet gums have seed pods like that. I'm not sure which these are. We used to make Christmas tree ornaments out of them. We'd spray paint them silver and tuck beads into the openings. We had way too much time on our hands.

storyteller said...

I remember these ;--)
Hugs and blessings,

Martha said...

Pods for the sweet gum tree. We had two of them in our yard in PA when I was growning up. My dad hated cleaning them up, and eventually took out the trees!