One Big Pinecone

Extremely hard and sharp "bristles" on this cone

Stop the car!  I got out and ran back because I knew one of the Things I get to do today is collect one of the dozens of huge pinecones by the road. We were driving in the San Bernardino Mountains a couple of weeks ago, and my eyeballs were peeled for anything extraordinary or unusual.  As I jumped back in the car, I held the biggest pinecone I'd ever seen. Extraordinary indeed!

It weighs well over a pound and stands nine inches tall.  Good friend Wiki tells me it is a Coulter Pine Cone and that my sample is small compared to the average.  They range in size from 8 to 16 inches and weigh from 2 to 5 pounds. Folks are advised to wear hardhats while working amongst these trees.  The cones nickname is "widow maker." We did comment at the time that if one of these fell on your head, it would do serious damage.

5" tall spice bottle

PS. Size comparison photos! Thanks, Julie, for the photo assist.

Served up on Lenox!  Get your fork ready.
Since the cone has dried out more and opened more,
it actually measures bigger than three weeks ago.