Crabapple.

Safe for your dog to eat, though these look like they've fermented a bit . . . don't be surprised if you end up with a drunken dog ;-))

Resin

What an adorable puppy!! 'Looks like a golden - if it is, they have the SWEETEST personalities!
Sherry

Hopefully some birds will come through and feast on those soon. Cute dog.

I also have a tree mystery. Last summer on Manasota Key, Fla., we had a tree in the yard of our rental that I couldn't I.D. It was a very brain-dead week, so I took a cone and figured I'd check it out later. I can't find it anywhere.It was a conifer, about 20 ft. tall with cylindrical pine cones about the width of a pencil and 15 inches long. It had a very irregular form with sparse branches on the top third of the tree. It had long needles and was growing about 100 ft. from the surf. Also, are the doves in Fla. any different (species-wise) than the mid-western mourning dove. they sure sound different! I realize I may have to go to another forum for the birds, I just hoped that I might get lucky with a Floridian on both questions.
Thank you,
Minna

Minna, if those pencil-thin cones are only 1.5 inches long instead of the 15 inches you wrote; then the tree is probably a Casuarina, not a pine at all. The leafless twigs are thin, green and limber, so they look superficially like pine needles. Casuarinas are native to the south Pacific, especially Australia, and are a weed of many tropical beaches where their exposed roots form a barrier to sea turtles trying to go up the beach to nest.

Yeah, sounds a lot like a Casuarina sps. to me too. They are actually distant cousins of Oaks(Quercus sps.) and Birch(Betula sps.) and not at all related to true Pines (Pinus sps.). Noxious weeds across much of the tropics around the world.

Also, the 3 Doves commonly found in the Florida Keys are the Mourning Dove, the Ground Dove(lots of orange-brown on the wings), and the White Crowned Pigeon. Accidental, somewhat rare, visitors to the Keys include the Zenaida Dove(looks most like a Mourning Dove than any of the others), the Key West Quail Dove, the Ruddy Quail Dove, and the Scaly-naped Pigeon.

White-winged Dove and Collared Dove (the latter a recent colonist from Europe) are also common in southern Florida

Resin

goldens are extremely pliable....

its time to train him NOW ...

mine walks the edge of the garden beds.. does NOT walk through them ...

put a ring of mulch around the tree... and train him respect it ...

better start now.. because 70 to 90 pounds later.. you will have problems ...

morning and night.. leash him.. and walk him around the property .. discussing issues of where he is and is not allowed ... they are very bright.. and will soon learn ...

key word : "no" ... when you say it .. he should have second thoughts about where he is going.. or what he is doing ... and the level of your voice dictates how important his decision should be ....

good luck

ken

I am going to challenge others and say that that tree could just as easily be an ornamental pear (ex. Pyrus calleryana) because of the uniform striated bark and the thick buds. Still should not be dangerous to the pup!

Ah ha! I think you could be right, palustris. The bark does look more like Pyrus calleryana. I have seen some pears with that much fruit, although we are used to thinking that it is sterile (especially if you have 'Bradford' or one of the other cultivars). But even 'Bradford' makes fruit when exposed to either a wild pear or a cultivar like 'Cleveland Select'.

The close up on the fruit made it seem the fruit was bigger and perhaps that is why people guessed crabapple (plus not usually having ornamental pear fruit).

Thanks everyone. The pine cone thing has been broken, but I still have most of it.I'll have my tech kid send in a picture tomorrow. They really were more than a ft. long. The only thing I'm pretty sure of is the dove wasn't a mourning dove. We have those here in Cinti. They were lighter colored, slightly heavier bodied, slight ring on neck. My vision isn't great, so what I remember most is their huh-huh huh sound. Next time I'll bring my binocs and my bird guide. I did see magnificent frigate birds though....very cool.
Thanks,
Minna

"The pine cone thing has been broken, but I still have most of it.I'll have my tech kid send in a picture tomorrow. They really were more than a ft. long"

Maybe fruit on a Callistemon or Melaleuca

"The dove wasn't a mourning dove. ... They were lighter colored, slightly heavier bodied, slight ring on neck"

Collared Dove.

Resin

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:326304}}

The dove was a collared dove. As a matter of fact, they're now appearing in my state although I haven't seen one yet. Thanks to your info , I found one on the web with audio and the distinctive "squawk" brought it all back. Do they displace native species, or is it too early to tell?
No such luck on the tree. I'm sending pictures.
Minna

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:326305}}

That's Araucaria heterophylla or Araucaria columnaris; the scales are leaves, not cone scales.

Resin

You rock!
Many thanks, Minna