The magnolia tree by our house produces fantastic seeds in pods, during the month of October. (See my postings showing these seeds in the links below this paragraph.) Once the seeds have fallen out, the spent cases cling to the ends of their support twigs. They are twisted and gnarled and have a different appeal with their muted tones and interesting textures. To the left of this spent seed case is a fuzzy bud, waiting for the spring. In late April they are in full bloom, with the flowers coming out before the leaves. (The link to the posting for the blooming tree is below the two links for the seeds.)

Today there are small flurries of snow falling on these before the big storm hits. It was hard to take a sharp photograph of these today as the chickadees are grabbing seeds from the nearby feeders and flying off to eat them, landing on other branches on this tree and I was surprised how the weight of their small, light bodies could cause this branch to move too.  

To see the case with the seeds in them go to the first two posts linked here. They really are amazing to see:  https://plus.google.com/105804664540125819976/posts/fEwnAeLazfw 
https://plus.google.com/105804664540125819976/posts/6rmvD6PL5oi
The magnolia in full bloom, at the end of last April, is here:  https://plus.google.com/105804664540125819976/posts/JK1dLkEfDpm 
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