Spinning Wings

A dried maple seed with a curved papery wing was wedged upright between the weathered slats of the patio bench. I clicked my elbow joints to bend down and eased the rounded pod free, surprised by how weightless it felt against my plastic fingers. Curious to see if its wing still worked, I stepped carefully toward the outer edge of the bench seat. Bracing my feet flat on the sun-warmed cedar, I extended my arm and released the seed into the open air. It tumbled for half a second before catching the breeze, spinning like a miniature propeller in a gentle spiral until it touched down softly on the flagstones below. Have you ever noticed how naturally trees teach their seeds to fly?