Black locust blooms in the backyard

While I was downloading photos from the camera disk onto my external hard drive the other day, I noticed this one and wondered aloud where my husband had taken it.

He wouldn’t tell me. He likes to play games like that, making me guess.

And it wasn’t until I was dining under the circle of seven trees in the backyard over the weekend that I finally discovered what the mystery pods were.

They’re the flowers of a black locust tree. There are several black locust on the property, and three of them are positioned in the circle of seven trees, seen above, along the edge of the property. They are probably pretty old, and are some of the tallest trees here.

I took this macro shot the other evening, while I was dining under those very trees. The flowers are borne in loose drooping racemes four to five inches long and their scent is quite lovely.

Black locust is the heaviest and hardest wood in North America. It’s extremely resistant to rot and is very long-lasting, rendering it prized for fence posts and small boats. It’s also highly valued as firewood because it burns slowly, has little visible flame or smoke and has an extremely high heat content.

I wouldn’t plant it on a horse farm, though. It’s toxic to them when eaten.

And that, all you cool cats and puppy dogs, is our lesson for today.

There will be a test next week.

Remember that George loves ya!

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

And I’m kidding about the test.