A few weeks ago, whilst driving along bucolic Lake Arrowhead in the San Gabriel Mountains east of Los Angeles, I drove by something that caused me to find a turn-around on that twisty windy road and go back.
I picked up what was to my eye the hugest pine cone I’d ever seen. Then I found another one laying on the side of the road. Now I’ve got two of these things. The sap- thick semi-white fluid- is quite hard to get off of my hands. ( peanut butter works. )
I want to keep these around as decorations. Wondering how to deal with the gobbets of sap on each … seed? What ARE those beautiful parts called?
The two I’ve got are not this big but they’re pretty huge.
Thoughts? How to preserve them? How to deal with the sap? I’m tempted to put one in the oven at about 125 for a lot of hours and get the sap to flow down and out. Would that work?
Congrats! Those are amazing!
First of all - DON’T PUT THEM IN THE OVEN! I know it sounds logical but they are already dry and will only get much drier. A pine cone opens when the moisture level drops to a point that allows them to open and drop their seeds.
Put them in the freezer, and freeze the sap, then take a pin or unfolded paperclip and pick off the remaining sap.
What do you want to use them for? If you are going to roll them in peanut butter and then roll them in seeds they will make great bird feeders. If you are going to do something else like hang them or whatever that’s awesome too.
Being a tree person I find all manner of pine cones, acorns and seed pods extremely fascinating. And over the years I’ve found all kinds of remedies for de-saping my hands, the best one seems to be 2 parts salt water one part alcohol and it comes right off.
Thank you. NO ovens !! Freezer? Perhaps. I simply am delighted by the beauty of the curves and points and whatnots. They are headed for bookshelves. Just… in the long hot summer air, the sap might really get to be an issue. These aren’t priceless ancient Roman Coins. I’m not averse to spraying them with matte finish polyurethane to keep the sap trapped.
I was told to use peanut butter on my hands and “scrub” them together. It did the trick, completely dissolving the sap. The peanut oil cut the sap. And my palms smelled GREAT !!
You can also hang them in the sun for a couple days and let the sap drip off. You picked these up close to when they fell, thus all the sap. Usually the birds and rodents take care of it when it when it is flowing [how they eat it I have no idea…] but now there is a finite amount of sap in there so it will all eventually come out. I love the idea of placing them on the bookshelf - that’s very Hobbit-like of you
Our bookshelves are filled with seed pods, pine cones, twisted sticks, rocks, fossils ect…one fun thing to put with them is a magnifying glass…that way guests can be invited to check them out!
Good idea- once it hots up here in NY, I’ll take them to the roof of the apartment building. “Tar Beach”, which is now shiny silver not black. That’ll hot them up enough for the sap to run. It’s 42 in NYC today, and the house is quite cool. That sap, it ain’t going anywhere.
Best thing about bookshelves is that they are crammed full of things of varying sizes thicknesses and colors all of which do the same thing: stir the brain. Why not have other brain-stirring items up there as well?
