I always take my camera along on my morning walks in our neighborhood. This time of year, I never know what beauty I will encounter.
The morning sunshine brings out the truest colors of the various flowers grown in our housing development. These curbside Phlox caught my attention with the lavender glow.
Then I spotted the yellow spot, which I thought was a Sulphur butterfly hiding in plain sight. Upon closer inspection, the out-of-place color was the winded end of a fallen maple seed.
They are referred to locally as helicopter seeds. Even the slightest breeze propels the twirling seeds across the neighborhood landscape. It’s nature’s way of propagating maple trees and providing fresh, nourishing food for squirrels and other critters.
This particular seed happened to land in a bed of lovely spring flowers that nicely contrasted with the seed’s mode of mobility in the sunlit space.
© Bruce Stambaugh 2026
Roadkill Crossing 
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