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.

由使用者 taogirl taogirl2016年12月14日 23:28 所貼文

觀察

照片/聲音

什麼

桑橙 (Maclura pomifera)

觀察者

taogirl

日期

12月 14, 2016

描述

this one merited a journal post

評論

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.

發佈由 vermfly 超過 7 年 前

Squirrells definitely eat them!

發佈由 andyk 超過 7 年 前

need to leave a sign for this! so people will understand "food for wildlife" leave it!!!!

發佈由 naturenut 超過 7 年 前

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.

發佈由 taogirl 超過 7 年 前

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.😜😳

發佈由 walkingstick2 大約 7 年 前

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