a tale of tails, tenacity, and tedium, as told by me, usually barefoot and bellowing

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Bodark, Osage Orange, Hedge Apples...

Whatever you call them
we have them.
They cover the ground yet are poison to humans. In some states they sell them at the super markets. Supposedly they discourage insects. The squirrels love them and so do children.  In a child's mind they can be any range of monsters.  At The Farm this is the one thing you can chop, throw, spear or poke without retribution. 
We lost a few during the tornado but those left still thrive.  I think I will place a few under the floor to see if it slows down spiders!

Bois d'arc is the best wood for a bow.  The wood is strong but pliable.  It is a beautiful yellow wood but we let ours grow.  There may come a time we fashion a bow.  Until then we play, put them in baskets for fall decorations and allow the squirrels to enjoy them.

16 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

So those are hedge apples?

LilliStJohn said...

What a strange looking ?fruit? I guess the squirrels won't go hungry, it'll fatten them up for the winter. Of course I had to see Lizzy amongst them, checking them out.
Its kinda neat to have a bow making tree right there on your property too. Can you make arrows out of this wood too.
We are having a strange sunrise here this morning - not the usual bright colours of all the usual ones, but a combination of all of the colours all at once. When I went out with the dog this morning I could smell the snow coming - we will have some before the day is out. Have a great day :)Hi to everyone:)

the canned quilter said...

Here they are popular for fence posts as they do not rot I guess. They are also planted for wildlife food. Some burn the wood and hubby says that it burns really hot and you have to be careful as it will burn out a stove bottom. You mix it with other woods.

Country Gal said...

I didn't know this . Great info thanks for sharing ! Lovely photos ! Have a good day my friend !

Far Side of Fifty said...

They are in the stores here, people put them in their lake cabins over the winter. I think they are $1.69 each in the grocery store.:)

TexWisGirl said...

some folks also call 'em horse apples, but i've only had one horse in 4 that would even touch them.

OmaLindasOldeBaggsandStuftShirts said...

Another bit of country knowledge shared. I saw some one time when I visited my Aunt in Tenn. but I didn't ask what they were. Thanks for sharing. Oma Linda

Farm Girl said...

My Dad had Bodark fences. He said they would last forever. I love the way it looks too,
I love the stuff you have around your place.

MadSnapper said...

i checked out the link, and I am going to call mine monkey balls... never seen or heard of these before... so are they poison if the dogs eat them? my dogs chew on everything in the yard

Sandee said...

I'm a farm girl, but didn't know about this. Way cool.

Have a fabulous day. ☺

Sandy Livesay said...

Make for great bartering tool.

Ginny Hartzler said...

I have never heard of these. They are maybe in the category with crab apples? They look quite a bit bigger though.

Lynne said...

Spiders . . . Osage Orange is supposed to be the cure! Good luck!

Susan Kane said...

It has been years and years since I last saw hedge apples/oranges! They made great weapons to throw. Thanks!

DesertHen said...

Hedge apples, I have heard of them, but I think this might be the first time I have seen one.

Ken K said...

I have two very old Osage Hedge trees in my backyard. Both are females with an abundance of apples. From the two trees alone, I've picked up over 15 large wheel barrel loads. I pile them on the edge of my property and about a dozen squirrels live on them over the winter. It's fun watching them carry an apple close to their weight and then peel them for the seeds inside.

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