Wednesday, 16 April - Tree of Evil, plus Jake and Nick

We were out walking awhile ago out back, and we spotted a tree that was, to say the least, unusual. It looked like something out of Star Trek -- remember the episode where the crew beamed down to a R&R planet, and they were all assaulted by "feel happy" plants? Well, this tree could have been one of the stars of the Wizard of Oz, on the side of the Wicked Witch of the West, of course. Cowardly Lion would make himself scarce just seeing it, Tin Man's heart would beat so fast it would shatter, and Scarecrow would lose his mind. Dorothy would surely be grabbed by the 3" sharp thorns, and would never get to see Auntie Em again!

It is absolutely horrible to look at, and it is sure to cause nightmares to small children -- or retired old men for that matter.

After diligent research (yeah, right, we just googled "Kentucky tree thorn") and came up with some pictures and a few descriptions that fit our Tree of Evil to a "T".

It's called a "Honey Locust" and it's considered a noxious weed in parts of Australia. One website said this is one of the few trees that can be identified by "feel" especially when backing up! Civil War soldiers in Kentucky used the thorns as common pins to hold their clothing together if they lost a button.

Of course others could think of absolutely EVIL uses for this tree. All in all, though, the seed pods are edible, the seeds are 13% protein, and the "sauce", for lack of a better term, inside the pod is 40% carbohydrate.

But you ain't gonna catch ME hanging around this tree for ANY reason!














FINALLY, I got an email from former students. I wasn't sure they liked me any more, but today Jake and Nick emailed me. It was SO good to hear from them.