Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Tinkling, breaking glass, mouse trap?

Night before last we were awakened by the sound of what we though was tinkling/breaking glass. DH thought it sounded like it was in the kitchen, but we saw nothing amiss when we checked it out. This was around 4:30 in the morning. He got dressed, took the flashlight and headed outside. He remembered that he hadn’t locked the small iron gate and we wondered if someone off the street had come in. He did the walk around the property, found nothing strange, locked the gate and came back in. We went back to bed wondering what the heck had happened.

All the next day we wondered and checked things out and couldn’t figure out the puzzle.

Last night we were woke up by what we thought sounded like a mouse trap going off. We had had one set some time back, but after checking that,we saw that it was empty and not even in a position to catch anything the way it was crammed behind things.

I looked around and found half of a dwarf poincianna seed pod laying in the kitchen sink, and a couple of seeds. I also found a seed on the floor. We said ok that’s the mouse trap, and went back to bed. As we lay there I thought I better look around in there again to see if I can see something else. Sure enough I did. Inside a glass candle holder I saw half of a seed pod and a seed, then I saw the other half of the seed pod behind this area. The seed pod had exploded, probably hitting the under side of the cabinet and half went to the back area and the other half into the glass enclosure, which made us think of breaking glass. It just goes to show how much force must be behind these things when they are ready to expel seeds. I couldn’t help but laugh and could hardly quit when going back to bed, as DH mumbled ‘ You and your seed pods.’ I put the rest of the seed pods in a container and out in the screened porch so that we would not be woken again.

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Half of the seed pod between little rack of essential oils and the ceramic piece of fruits and veggies. The other half inside the glass enclosure.

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It’s amazing how things sound in the middle of the night, when you are half asleep.

Beware of exploding seed pods. You might end up doing a ‘boogie walk’ for ‘boogie men’, when there are none. Smile

Hope you all have a restful sleep.

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9 comments:

Andrea said...

Wow, that is something i never heard of! I have lots of those poinciana in our property, if it means Caesalpinia pulcherrima. But because we have plenty and we dont have winter, we don't need to keep pods, they are just in the mother plant to burst if it's time to. Now i feel like getting some other pods and experiment on their intensity of bursting. Maybe the pods of Samanea saman and the poinciana tree/Delonix regia will have higher dehiscence sounds, as their pods are thicker and biggher.

Corner Gardener Sue said...

LOL! I'm glad you figured out what the noise was. I am on Larry's iPad. Now, I am going to get on his computer.

The Ebullient Gardener said...

What a funny story! I bet it was very puzzling at first! Also, glad to hear you have had some luck moving seedling Crepe Myrtles! Thanks for sharing your funny story! Happy Gardening! Mindy

denimflyz said...

What a hoot, FL!
As dumb as I am, I probably wouldn't of figured it out till next year what it was.
Have a great evening.

Morning's Minion said...

So good that the alarming nocturnal sounds had a rational explanation--and an interesting one.
Things that 'go bump in the night' are surely unsettling!

Kit said...

LOL!! I just love this story.And it is so true! It reminds me of the time my hubby heard the sound of breaking glass and couldn't find the source (I had gone to bed)so he went back to bed. We puzzled and puzzled until I spied a picture hanger on the floor of the craft room. Which led to a ceramic tile behind the cabinet which led to a broken vase. Tile fell and broke the vase and fell unnoticed behind the cabinet. Mystery solved. Have a great week! Hugs, Kit

gld said...

I wouldn't have dreamed an exploding seed pod could cause that much noise. Maybe you all are just very light sleepers! Glad you found the culprit. We hate to hear strange noises and never figure out what caused it.

We usually get a mouse or two inside when fall begins.

Lona said...

Oh, now that would rather get the Adrenalin going.LOL!

Jean Campbell said...

California poppies pods are fun in a paper bag, exploding open and making noise. I'll put these Caesalpinia pulcherrima pods I brought in yesterday in a coffee can and see what kind of noise they make.

I love seed pods.