A buckeye

The state tree of Ohio is the buckeye, and this is the fruit of that tree, the buckeye nut. This spiny covering remains in place until late summer. If you open it early, the forming buckeye is there, but not nearly as impressive as the mature nut, which is a shiny brown with a tan circle about 1 cm in diameter. Given that Columbus is the home of the Ohio State Buckeyes, these nuts are made into every imaginable type of decoration or necklace. It's not uncommon to see a person with a string of 50 buckeyes walking down High Street on a football Saturday, as well as lots of vendors with many more necklaces and trinkets.
We paint buckeyes on our faces, on our walls, and our OSU mascot is Brutus Buckeye. Just writing these words makes me realize how much fun it is to live and work here, and that I'm just starting to get that flicker of anticipation that starts about this time, when in about a month the marching band (TBDBTL) will be practicing "Fight the Team" as I leave work for the day. Football season is not far away! Go Bucks!!