Skeleton Mystery

There's not a tremendous amount out in the garden just now, but in spite of the recent frost my bright red pelargonium is still flowering on the protected part of the patio near the house. 

Anyway something completely different came to my notice the other day. When I was raking up leaves I came across a mystery plant skeleton. It was rather beautiful, made up of dry whitish strands in a sort of trumpet shape. At first I thought it was a fungus of some sort because it was formed a bit like a large chanterelle. Then I thought perhaps, it was the last of one of my 'Autumn Joy' sedums but it wasn't flat enough in the middle. Neither really fitted the shape. 

                                                                                                        

Then I remembered I had seen a  squirrel tearing to pieces the head of  this year's  sunflower, which I had thrown exactly where I found the skeleton. And that's what it had to be - the remains of the sunflower, once the seeds had been squirrel-scattered (or buried). 

                                 

It's hard to imagine that such a stately plant, grown from seed and developed  in one short season into a sturdy giant could be reduced to something so dainty and lace-like. I hope the squirrel managed to make the most of its seeds. I've kept the skeleton on the mantelpiece as  a thing of interest and delicacy, together with a tiny bird skeleton.

 I was reminded of a haiku by Matso Bashko,  which could have been written specially: 

                           A weathered skeleton

                           in windy fields of memory

                           piercing with a knife 

                                                                                                                                

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