i expected the squirrels to nail the maize...

...but when the tree rats start to gnaw on teosinte it becomes deeply personal and we all know what irate gardeners are like when they find chewed off stems and hard-won seed heads laying on the ground...cranky...so i rescued the one they missed from the mud and cleaned it up some and retired to the archives to take some photos before the center for urban and regional excellence open house to take some photos ( thanks for the space steve! ) of an ear a bit more close up than in the wild and with a quarter for a size gauge...there will be more since the ones out back are still intact and number over one hundred...i may start an autumn tradition of giving teosinte ears as gifts to the select who can appreciate them as a cultural icon rather than simply as food.