July 17th, 2017

roOne of the many things I did not know about palm trees is that they shed. They shed a lot.  They shed like a dark haired cat on a white sofa.  These are a couple that I picked up over the weekend and dragged to the side of the house which is something I do nearly every day until I have a nice little pile to leave for the yard rubbish guys to pick up on Monday.  

 It's not a big deal.  I don't mind doing it, it only takes a few minutes to 'walk the perimeter', find the deadfall  of the day and drag it over to the side. The problem comes later when I try to stuff it into the proper yard rubbish container for pick up.   They are a trifle large and not very bendy. It's probably hard to tell size from the above photo.  Let's see if this helps for proportions sake. Here are the same fronds with the container they are supposed to be in.

If they would just break like other dead branches it wouldn't be much of an issue, but no.  Maybe they have springs in them?  Or they are made of some sort of rubber variation because they. do. not. break.  I'm sure the trees are laughing watching me struggle.  I stand on one end while holding the other and pulling it toward me. Pulling with all my tiny mite waiting in vain for the "snap" of a broken branch.  Nothing.  I've considered purchasing a chain saw to cut them up, but I'm not certain that would take care of the problem either.  I end up dragging them up to the side of the road, one by one (they are heavy too) and leaving them in as neat a pile as possible, praying that the rubbish guys will take pity on me and pick them up even though they aren't in the appropriate bin.  So far, that's working for me.

These are the palms that those particular fronds came from.  One fell into the courtyard, the other onto the front lawn.  It's just something I never knew.  When people talk about moving to places where palm trees sway and the ocean waves and the sun shines down, they might mention the rainy season, they could possibly share concerns about hurricanes or flooding but I have never heard anyone (except me) whine about palm tree's shedding.  I had no idea that it happened.

I suppose it makes sense.  Pine trees shed those fragrant little needles until the forest floor is totally covered with a springy layer of it.  Dogwood trees and other blossoming trees drop their little flowers to the ground once they turn brown but those deteriorate quickly and are absorbed by the soil.   Fruit trees can drop their fruit to the ground but usually birds, insects and other animals eat it.  What they don't immediately consume, again deteriorates quickly and goes back to the soil.  Not palm frond and seed pods.  They sit.  And I suspect that like other things prehistoric they seem to become petrified in short order.

I wonder if they can damage a roof or a car or a bunny who is innocently munching grass in the lawn below?  That's a long way up. Or perhaps it's a long way down.  Regardless of the direction, those big heavy fronds definitely can squash a plant because I've dragged enough of them out of the shrubs and flowers to notice that.  These palms also have these seed pods things that fall.  They are even heavier and more stone like and  pointy on their ends.  They tend to fall point down and impale themselves into the ground.   Could they also  impale, say,  a lizard basking itself in the sun? 

I find myself making note of the trees with dead branches that are starting to come loose.  Sometimes they dangle for weeks before finally falling to the ground.  Every day I wonder, is this the day?   It's a good thing I'm not a gambler because I'd be dead broke in a week.  I guess wrong every single time.   But I keep watching.  Look how far above the roofline these trees are:

It's a long way down.  That whole "throwing a penny off the Empire State Building" story keeps running through my mind.  Oh I'm sure you've heard the myth. Something about a young boy, innocently throwing a penny off the observation deck of the Empire State Building and it killing someone on the ground when it's strikes them. 

Apparently the Mythbusters checked that one out and it turns out the penny fell at 64.4 miles per hour which is enough to really hurt, but certainly not enough to be deadly force.  For a penny.  Not sure how it works with palm fronds.

Regardless, you now know something you might not have known before.  Beware the palm fronds!!  People you have been warned.