Some of those tree-lined streets in my home town might as well be a hard-hat zone right now.On second thought, leave the hard hat at home and just take another route. Or pack plenty of Goody headache powder (those not from the South, ask me what that is). You'll need it.
Blame it on the bunya bunya.
It seems nearly every area in the United States has some flora or fauna that was imported and no one's sure why. Out here in the Southeast we have fire ants (which I'm sure are not from around here), kudzu (which chokes off every living plant and nothing can kill it), and the land developer (see: kudzu).
In Riverside, California, where I spent my formative years, the oddball species is the bunya bunya tree.
They're from Australia, and you might remember those Foster's Lager ads. Great White Shark = Australian for guppy.
Now, the bunya bunya is a pretty nice tree. Nice enough to be planted several places in downtown Riverside, which is too arid for a lot of plant life. It's a conifer, like the pine tree.
When pine trees drop their cones, it's not a big issue. The problem with the bunya bunya is that, when it drops its cones, everyone knows it. These babies are about the size of a pineapple, and weigh about the same as a bowling ball.
Ouch! = Australian for pine cone.
And this is the time of year when the bunya bunyas drop their cones. The parks department in Riverside is ready. Barricades. Signs. Probably some of that yellow crime-scene tape. Part of it, I'm sure, is a litigation thing. Getting conked by a foot-tall, 10- to 15-pound cone from a tree owned by the city would be a bonanza for someone, especially if he has the law firm of Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe in his corner.
(Personal footnote: My mom swears to this day that I was not dropped at birth, but who knows? Maybe I had an encounter with a bunya bunya and didn't tell anybody? Sure would explain a lot of things.)
If you go traveling in Riverside, enjoy the sights and the great weather. But watch out for the bunya bunya.
(Photos from the Riverside Press-Enterprise)
Blame it on the bunya bunya.
It seems nearly every area in the United States has some flora or fauna that was imported and no one's sure why. Out here in the Southeast we have fire ants (which I'm sure are not from around here), kudzu (which chokes off every living plant and nothing can kill it), and the land developer (see: kudzu).
In Riverside, California, where I spent my formative years, the oddball species is the bunya bunya tree.
They're from Australia, and you might remember those Foster's Lager ads. Great White Shark = Australian for guppy.
Now, the bunya bunya is a pretty nice tree. Nice enough to be planted several places in downtown Riverside, which is too arid for a lot of plant life. It's a conifer, like the pine tree.
When pine trees drop their cones, it's not a big issue. The problem with the bunya bunya is that, when it drops its cones, everyone knows it. These babies are about the size of a pineapple, and weigh about the same as a bowling ball.
Ouch! = Australian for pine cone.
And this is the time of year when the bunya bunyas drop their cones. The parks department in Riverside is ready. Barricades. Signs. Probably some of that yellow crime-scene tape. Part of it, I'm sure, is a litigation thing. Getting conked by a foot-tall, 10- to 15-pound cone from a tree owned by the city would be a bonanza for someone, especially if he has the law firm of Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe in his corner.
(Personal footnote: My mom swears to this day that I was not dropped at birth, but who knows? Maybe I had an encounter with a bunya bunya and didn't tell anybody? Sure would explain a lot of things.)
If you go traveling in Riverside, enjoy the sights and the great weather. But watch out for the bunya bunya.
(Photos from the Riverside Press-Enterprise)
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