This is neat. I’ve certainly pulled the ‘needles’ apart to see how they work. Next time I see one, I will try joining them up again.
That’s incredible! I knew some plants secreted flammable oils but flammable gas is insane!
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Giving people a twig from a yellow birch tree to chew on while they hike (in Northeastern North America) is fun for this, too.
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I don’t think anyone has mentioned handling or breaking off a chunk of a fast-staining mushroom (like these). That’s a fun attention-grabber.
If you’re near a stream, grabbing any rock and showing off the aquatic inverts clinging to it is usually good for 10 minutes of excitement.
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Jack-in-the-pulpit is so cool-looking just by itself.
The smell of sweetfern and/or wintergreen is always great.
Peeling and eating thistles, although startling at first, is also a nice trick.
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Popping the seedcases of Impatiens capensis, also known as jewelweed or spotted touch-me-not with the heat of your hand is always fun!
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My favorite is showing people why cherry millipedes have their common name. I don’t recommend letting an unfamiliar person handle one of those guys as you never know how their skin will react, but letting them sniff the millipede or your skin after you’ve touched it is always fun and educational. I always make sure to give them a little warning to ALWAYS wash their hands well after touching any type of millipede, though.
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Our Cape fynbos contains proteas - named for the Greek god who could change his form. But I think our daisies vary hugely from the expected ‘yellow dinner plate’ that anyone can recognise. Even they vary from huge woody almost trees with fruit to ethereal tinies. One that looks like a bulb, and others with succulent leaves - appropriately named Curio!
For our new Fynbos Ramblers- when in doubt, that’s a Nother daisy.
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I find most of my daytime owls not by seeing them, but by listening. If you hear agitated bird calls, go see what they’re upset about. Especially if any of them are jays, and especially if it’s multiple species of bird calling at once. Small birds will mob a larger predatory bird like a hawk or owl (or vulture they think is a predator), and if you happen to be in hearing range at the time, you can follow the noises to see whatever they’re mad at. Mind you, it might be a snake (which you may also enjoy seeing- I do), or a cat, or some other predator, but often it’ll be a hawk or owl.
Do keep in mind that owls are very sensitive to disturbance. One being mobbed is already very disturbed and is therefore less vulnerable, with you and your big shiny eyes (binocular lenses/camera lens) being lower on its priority list than being pecked on the head, but if you do happen to find one during the day and it isn’t being attacked, you should limit your time looking at it. Not least as you don’t want to draw the attention of little birds that will mob the poor thing while it’s trying to sleep.
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Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) exploding seed pods.
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