Tree of Life

So the three of us went to hang out on the tennis court to enjoy a nice beautiful fall day. (We don't have any grass to hang out on because too many dogs live in our complex.) Juliet has been very camera shy. Well, not so much camera shy as camera rebelious. Every time I attempt to take cute pictures of her I end up with lot of shots of the back of her head, a couple where she is only half in the picture, and if I'm lucky, one great one that is slightly out of focus. Well today was no different. Brett tried to distract her with a tennis ball while I secretly photographed her, but she was so on to us.
About this time a healthy gust of wind rolls a giant seed in between my feet. I stoop to examine it only to discover . . . a pecan? In the middle of the tennis court. I couldn't be too sure, so I cracked it open under my heel.
It was delicious! Now to discover the origins of said nut.
As it turns out, the kind of ugly tree that hangs over our tennis court is a pecan tree! I shared the joyous news with our neighbor (after picking up all the pecans, of course -- maybe that was a little shady. Havilah, you be the judge!! :) .
A couple days later we made another brilliant discovery. The complex is full of pecan trees! Which, obviously called for a scavenger hunt. Rahel and Tyler mostly picked up rocks and clumps of dirt (I had to throw their bags out soon after because bugs kept crawling out of them) but Brett and I got another hefty bag of pecans. Now if we only had a way to shell them. . .