The Little White Bird......or not!

Mark and I were traipsing about the hillside early this morning.  We were turning off the outdoor faucets and checking for any damage that the harsh weather of the past few days might have rendered upon the pipes. Thankfully, none could be found.  Our preparations and precautions had been a success.  Now things could sit for a few days until the next go round which should come early to midweek.  Ice is not something that is common around here so it was treated as the novelty it was.  So far, the persimmon seed prediction of snow has proved to be wrong unless one considers sleet to be in the same category as snow.  Not me.

Just before we headed back into the Little Bayou House, I spied what I thought was a small white bird in the Jasmine vine.  Hmmm...we have no white birds around here unless you look toward the Bay. Could one of my little terns taken refuge in the vine and decided that it was a nice place to rest for the entire day?  Had some poor little songbird gone bellyup in the ice storm and making its white underbelly visible?  Or was I merely viewing some wayward paper or plastic that the high winds had deposited in my arbor?  Bad eyesight plays all sorts of tricks on one's mind!  This called for an investigation, though.

Upon closer inspection, I found that I was wrong on all counts.  The "white bird" was none than a Jasmine seed pod that had burst open after the ice had melted from the vine.  The feathery pappi (white fluffy part) looked a lot like the underbelly feathers of a bird.  After taking a few pictures, Mark and I searched the vine for other seed pods.  He found one other which also had burst.  We picked both and toted them inside.  Soon, I will stir up a bit of the hotbed and sow these seeds.  Hopefully in a few weeks, I will see tiny seedlings sprouting!  I do, indeed, love my Jasmine even if its seed pods are tricksters!  I cannot wait until early spring when my arbor once again looks like the above picture!