teosinte and snow

today's snow started out as small flakes...as the storm has progressed they have become larger and wetter creating a heavy cover of snow...the teosinte has taken a few hits over it all...some stalks are bent over...others have snapped and fallen over...flowers are no longer upright and the snow continues to fall...they would have fallen eventually anyway..one of the selective advantages of height, beyond better access to more sunlight during the growing season, is that when the plants die back they fall over spreading seed along a ten to twelve foot line from the position of the parent plant...more area...more chance of more seeds germinating in the next generation...looking out for the little ones...the seventh photo is of an ear that is preparing to shatter i posted yesterday...the eighth is of another that is opening and the ninth is of ears whose husks have become so thin you can see the seeds in them...preparing to shatter...more as they open.