I wave to everyone who passes me when I walk, but rarely does anyone ever speak to me. This morning I was walking by the service station/general store/café when a man came toward me. He smiled and said something about morning exercise. He held out his hand, obviously wanting me to take what was hidden there. He told me what kind of seeds they were, and I made him repeat it twice. I could not hold onto the name to save my life. His thick mountain accent didn’t help, especially when he began to explain what to do with them.

What I understood him to say was, “Take off the little bits sticking out. Use fishing line to string them together to make a necklace.”

As I was thanking him, he held out his hand to shake mine and sauntered off. I would love to have snared him with questions, wanting to learn more about him. Perhaps he has seen me often, since I’ve been walking there a full year now. I wonder if I’ll recognize him if I see him again.

If anyone can identify the seeds, please tell me what they are.