Here you see one of the banes of our farm. . .
Yes, it is the pernicious sweetgum ball from the American Sweetgum tree. Even in winter, they manage to litter the landscape.
In my estimation, there is nothing sweet about them. The blasted little prickly “gumballs” are a nuisance. They catch in the wool of the sheep and llamas, plus they litter the ground and are hard to walk on.
In fact, in California these rotten gumballs are known as “ankle biters” or “ankle twisters”.
They linger, not being prone to rapid decay. Nope, they just hang around and make a nuisance of themselves, the unwanted guests.
Granted, the trees make shade.
Sheep standing under Sweetgum Tree.
But so do the oaks, walnut trees, hickory trees, and all kinds of other trees we have around here. And they don’t leave prickly presents on the ground that gets into wool!
If I had my way, I’d cut down every sweetgum tree on the place. Fortunately for the trees, The Farmer doesn’t agree. But then he’s never been the one picking the nasty sweetgum balls out of fleeces. They are hard on your fingers!
There ought to be a law against sweetgum balls.
(But if you really think you want a sweetgum tree, they sell them here. . .
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I’ve always wondered why the first human beings with any brain at all, ever let these trees grow. After I stepped on one, barefoot, as a child—it was all over. I knew if one was ever growing on any land I owned, I’d chop it down.
Nice to see someone agrees with me! Although supposedly the wood is “one of the most important commercial hardwoods in the Southeast and the hard wood is put to a great many uses, one of which is veneer for plywood.” Wonder if I could convince anyone to buy ours?