OVERNIGHT INVASION

A rainless cool front moved in overnight, evidenced by my hammock pillow that had blown off onto the porch floor, a turned-over plastic pot of coleus by the driveway, and (scream! gasp! cower!) the invasion of the pod people in the backyard! Oh, no!!!!

I love flowering trees...but there is a big drawback to having them.  PODS!  The golden rain tree has been shedding them like crazy for a month or so. They are about the size of a ping pong ball, a little smaller, and they have a single seed inside.  The mimosa pods are long and slender, like a flat pea pod.  They are not as plentiful as the golden rain tree pods, for which I am most grateful. 

So,  this morning when I went to the backyard to water our flowers, I was greeted with a procession of pods all over the lawn and patio. Now, I suppose some people just turn a blind eye to a pod proliferation, but not The Flaming Bore.  No, no.  Every pod must be picked up and disposed of immediately. It's company policy. I try to make a game of it and pretend that I am ridding the world of the evil pod people. Remember them?  These deadly imposters were in the classic thriller Invasion of the Body Snatchers...early version starring Kevin McCarthy; later version with Donald Sutherland before he became overshadowed by his snot-nosed acting son, Keifer.  In this movie, creatures from outer space hatch earthling duplicates in life-size pods. Oh, the horror!!

I disposed of my own pods in between moving the hose around the barberry bushes, using the raking and hands-on-knees procedure. They almost filled the designated pod bucket, which will get dumped later today.

Meantime, I plan to recuperate from my pod picking with a big bowl of cereal before returning for round two:  deadheading!!!!! --I betcha Donald Sutherland doesn't have the courage to work in his yard and he just hires a gardener.