Aeronautical Trials

I gathered three paired sycamore seeds from the mossy grass and hoisted them up to the top rail of an oak park bench. Holding a twin-winged seed by its knobbly stem between both paws, I leaned out over the gravel and released it. It dipped an inch before catching the air, snapping into a dizzying brown spiral that rotated smoothly all the way down. Thoroughly fascinated by the rotor mechanics, I bent one wing of the second seed slightly upward to test its flight dynamics. It spun twice as fast, drilling straight downward like a tiny natural propeller. Botanical aviation is a truly remarkable science.