A Thorn in My Flesh!

For many people this is their favorite time of the year.  The air is crisper, drier, and cooler.  Those qualities are wonderful, to be sure.

However, this is also the time of year when sandburs are at their worst.  What is a sandbur?  To quote the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension website:

“Field sandbur (grassbur) is a summer annual grassy weed that can be found in home lawns, sports fields, parks and along roadsides. This weed is especially adapted to dry, sandy soils but can be found growing in other types of soils as well. The big problem with this weed is the sharp, spiny burs that are part of the inflorescence. These burs can be painful and are difficult to remove from clothing material. Field sandburs (grassburs) generally start germinating in late spring and will continue to germinate until late summer or early fall months. This weed will continue to grow until the first hard frost or freeze occurs in the fall.”

In other words, they hurt like heck!  They are pesky weeds, that stick to clothing, shoes, (socks!) and even a disc golf bag. 

There are certain holes at Bill Frederick Park (BFP) where they are prolific and that makes hunting for a stray disc hazardous in the fall.  Sometimes you come out of the weeds with those darn burrs sticking all over your shoes, socks, and clothing. 

When the weeds begin producing the seed pods, they are green and especially sticky.  However, the thorns on them are not yet super sharp, and while removing them from clothing is annoying, it isn’t terribly painful.

At this time of year, with a hint of Fall in the air, the burrs turn dry, hard, and especially sharp.  You know when you have them on you, the pain of those sharp thorns is unmistakable.

Yesterday I threw a disk too far to the right on hole ten and had to go searching for it in a weedy, bushy area.  When I came out (without my disc), there were several of those despicable things stuck to my shoes.

No matter how hard you try to get them off without getting stuck, invariably one of those sharp points will pierce your skin.  Sometimes I carry a needle-nose pliers in my bag just to deal with them.  Once they are attached to your clothing, it takes a while to get them off.

The other day, as I was on my way to work, I kept feeling that familiar pain in my side as I was driving.  It felt like I had a burr in my clothes, but I had been nowhere near the disc golf course.  I was driving on a toll road so there was no way to check, but the pain and sting was very familiar.

When I got to work, and got out of the car, I removed my sweater, and there it was!  Inside my sweater, poking into my side.  How in the world did it get there, I wondered.  Then I opened my trunk and reached in to remove my computer bag, which was right next to my disc golf bag.

There they were!  Stuck to the bottom of my disc golf bag.  Clearly, I had managed to brush my clothing against the bag as I placed my computer in the trunk before leaving for work.

Sandburs?  I curse you!