Monday Mystery

So. We were at the beach last week. One evening while we were sitting on the porch, I noticed this:

I asked Butch where those pine cones came from. He didn't know. I was really perplexed because these are the trees above:

Palm trees! Now if there were coconuts or something laying there, I could understand. But pinecones? 

I asked Butch again. I could tell he was getting aggravated at my question because clearly, he didn't know either. I just didn't get it. I thought, "Okay, they've used pine straw to mulch with. Maybe there were pine cones mixed in." Then, I knew that couldn't be it because I use pine straw for mulch at home too. We don't have any pinecones in ours. It was definitely a mystery!

Then, a few days later, when I was finishing my walk, I was at the front of the building. I noticed more pinecones. I looked up. Amidst the palm trees, were pine trees. What an unusual mix. I think of palm trees at the beach, but pine trees in the mountains--or at least NOT at the beach. Then I got to thinking about the cones around back. Some kids must have picked them up. When they were finished playing with them, their parents must have dumped them under the palm trees between our condos. Yeah, that's it. 

Mystery solved. 

PS I wish I'd taken a picture of the mix of trees. It really looked pretty nice. Next time.