The weather was almost in the seventies. The sun was shining. The birds were singing. And Babs and I knew we’d better grab the day for a good autumn hike before winter is breathing down our necks once again. We drove out to Watkin’s Mill State Park and hiked around the whole perimeter of this lake, which ended up being almost four miles.
The day was full of critters. We saw one deer (with antlers,) geese, and about two thousand squirrels. I was eager to photograph the geese and I went from this 
to getting as close as I could. I eased myself almost right next to this guy, until he grew annoyed with me, and decided to go back into the water, much to Babs’ disappointment, because she had been hoping he’d turn around and start after me! Ha. Ha. Here I’d braved attack, not to mention a whole lot of goose poo, and neither of them appreciated my efforts!
We came upon two particularly interesting trees. If I had to guess, I’d say this one is a thorn tree. Check out all the thorns right on the trunk. Wouldn’t you hate to have to climb that one fast?
I don’t know what this second one is called, but I thought it looked so unusual. It was on the short side, and seemed to grow out horizontally. It was almost like a sculpture in wood. 
As we progressed, we kept coming across a whole lot of hedge apples on the ground. I remembered these from my childhood. My Grammy and I would go out and collect bittersweet and hedge apples for table arrangements. I now wish Babs and I had picked up a few because my research has revealed that they’re wonderfully effective spider, cricket, ant and mouse repellents! 
The funny thing is, though, all this time I just assumed they grew on bushes because I only ever saw them on the ground. But this time, I happened to look up and saw this in the distance.
It was as if Nature had already decorated for Christmas!
Anyway, as usual, I’ve saved my absolute favorite picture for the end. 
As you all know by now, I’m a sucker for cool clouds. But, I ask you, is this not a totally awesome shot? Shall I call it, “Hedge Apples Against The Sky?” All I can say is, I am really grateful we had this day.
Until next time,
Great photos!
Hint on the hedge apples: you can put them around your
basement or garage and they do help ward off unwanted bugs.
I’m sure you could find some close to where you live in a park
or along the roadside. They grow everywhere!
I tried hedge balls years ago for bugs, mice, etc. I put them every where. Inside, outside. I don’t think they work, because the critters were still around. Plus a few months later I had to gather up the dried up hedge balls to throw away. Some were missed, because I had forgot where I put them. Never hurts to try.
Iris is right. They don’t eliminate, but I think they help repel those little critters. I just gathered up the old, dried up hedge apples and threw them away when I put the next year’s batch.
Funny that of all you wrote about in this post, people are drawn to those ugly hedge apples. Maybe that shows our rural roots. The hedgeapple trees are so abundant in this part of the country because they used to be used as fences. That’s why the word “hedge” is in the name. The thorns served as barbed wire to keep livestock in and trespassers out.
These trees are also known as osage-orange trees. Some people attribute the name to the yellowish-orange bark, but as one who used to have to cut some of these out with an axe, I think it was from the very hard, not quite orange, wood itself.
Today hedge apples are a nuisance for drivers, ammunition for kids and food for squirrels. I’ve used them for years to keep kangaroos out of my garage. They really work!
Thanks for the memories. Hope you get in another hike this year.
Thanks for all the comments! I think they must really work for some people. Read the Guestbook comments at:
http://hedgeapple.com/
Some people even claim they get rid of fleas! I’d still like to get my hands on some of them and put them around the basement and garage. Couldn’t hurt.
P.S. Taurus – I’m relieved that you’ve found a way to get your kangaroo problem under control!