If you ride in my car you might hear some rattling. Sure, there are the typical rattling things one might find…
- A quarter – used for Aldi shopping trips
- Tube of lip balm – *only if it’s fall or winter. Guess what? It melts in hot weather!
- Safety pins – just in case you are short at a race!
- Cow bells – just in case you are at a race
[editors note: oops, I forgot to post this a free weeks ago. You can tell by this “warm weather” selfie! Enjoy this bonus post today!! :)]
But if you drive my car, you might notice something odd in the door causing the rattling… buckeyes! (ignore the dirt/fuzz, I cleaned that up after I saw this picture!)
So why in the heck do I have buckeyes in my car? First of all, what are buckeyes? Maybe you don’t have those where you live? Those are the seeds from the Buckeye tree, which is the state tree of Ohio. Who knew?? (well of course, go Ohio State Buckeyes!!)
At this time of year, the seeds litter the ground of the trail where I often run my long runs. It’s a sure sign that fall is here when you see them!
If you’ve never held one, you have to know that they are shiny and have the most amazing feel to them. In my opinion, they are quite addictive. Like a polished rock, but not that cold. That’s why I have them in my car. Many years ago when I was deep into my marathon training, I would come out to this trail and often pick up a buckeye along the run and keep it in my hands all through the run. It’s a great feeling just sliding your fingers on them. Very calming.
So a collection of them have gathered in my car. I see them and they remind me of the strong things I have done. And I pick one up, because who can resist? The great thing is that they are good for many years and don’t have bugs in them or anything like that. On this run I decided to refresh my collection though. Instead of the selections already on display by the river, I picked my own from the ground.
Quite big ones this time!
There you have it. The more you know 🙂
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Q: Do you have Buckeyes where you live?
Q: What odd things are always in your car?
Q: Do have a quarter for ALDI in your car??
Actually we do. The Morton Arboretum where I frequently run has several buckeye trees that overhang the road and I occasionally stop and pick one up because I was always told they were good luck. Hair bands. Don’t ask me why because I don’t have an explanation. I started picking up hair bands off the running trail and putting them over my gear shift knob. Now I have quite a few. Never bought enough stuff st Aldi to warrant using a cart.
I do also have a collection of hair bands on one of the stalks of my steering wheel! Mine is from when Sydney took gymnastics and she never had one when she needed it, so it started then. However, it’s been a handy thing for me to have too! 🙂
I never heard of buckeyes! They look like horse chestnuts, which I do see in PA! I have an Aldi key chain in which there is a slot to slide the quarter in. Freaking love Aldi!
Does that mean you don’t have the candy Buckeye treat around your area? It’s a peanut butter ball, dipped in chocolate. OMG, sooooooo good!
I had to Google the keychain. Another OMG, there are some adorable designs (on Etsy of course!). That’s a great idea!
Etsy is such a cool site! I get some neat jewelry on there. No we don’t have candy buckeye treats, not that I know of. But it sounds VERY GOOD!