Tree Butterflies

THEY came by the thousands, a swarm of fluttering creatures descending from the sky. They turned out to be seed pods from our next door neighbour's tree, spinning delightedly on their quest to start new life. We ran around trying to catch them, which actually turned out to be a little easier than catching autumn leaves thanks to the winged seeds' amazing design. Their flight was fascinating and beautiful to watch. These seeds have one wing only, paper thin on one end yet somewhat woody. They are scaled, also like butterfly wings. The other end is weighed down by the seed and leads the way to the earth. We collected a basketful and they became food for Emma's baby, currency in her shopping game, boats in a bucket of water, competitors to race down a homemade slide, fairy wings and so much more. They continued to drop in on us, seemingly intent on participating in our whole day. We obliged by making the winged seeds the subject of our art project. We never did get around to checking exactly what kind of a tree they come from, but we did enjoy their company.