Pinecone Connections

Pinecones are usually prevalent on the pine trees, and the ground underneath, where I live in the high desert of southern Oregon—until recently. Our car is littered with more pinecones than the tree itself. The squirrels are tearing the limbs from the tree, with the pinecones still attached, and scattering them all over our yard. What is the attraction of squirrels to pine cones?

I learned that each cone contains up to 200 seeds located under the pinecone’s scales. The pine seeds can be harvested in the summer and fall. As squirrels prepare for winter they rip open the cones and take the nuts. I could fight the squirrels for the pine nuts. Although, since each spine contains two nuts encased in a hard covering like a walnut shell, it is probably not worth my time to harvest it. However, I needed the pinecones for centerpieces for an event.

Along with some gourds and miniature pumpkins, I wanted to add pinecones to the centerpiece. Since the squirrels had not left any on the ground, I picked them from the tree trying not to get pricked by the thorns on the spiny scales.

At the event, a friend asked me if she could take one of the pinecones home with her. I told her that she could have them all. She asked if I had more. I said that if she was willing to climb the pine tree, she could have as many as she wanted. She told me that her daughter is getting married and she wants to use them for centerpieces.

Shortly after that conversation, a neighbor, who was also attending the event, told me a story about her grandson. She said, “I bribed my 6-year-old grandson by offering him a dime for each pinecone that he collected from the driveway. He saw visions of big money and he collected bags and bags of pinecones. They are sitting in my garage and I’m not sure what I’m going to do with them.”

For today’s gift, I connected my friend and my neighbor. My friend will get pinecones for her daughter’s wedding and my neighbor will get a clean garage.

It was fun to see both of them talking about the exchange of the pinecones! I can’t wait to see the centerpieces and the clean garage.

In Giving,

Robin