Flora, Fauna and Feeders

A couple of years ago dh invested in solar lighted bird feeder, which grew to this currently dedicated area of the yard complete with a bird bath!

 The plants in the circle grew from the wild bird seed fallen to the ground.  I have no clue what they are, but when they produced pods that looked like bean pods I thought i'd end up with some very nice free bird seed.

So I picked a bunch of them that were dry inside.  How did i know they were ready?  Well I shook them and they make a noise like a rattle snake!  Well what I've heard in movies of rattle snakes.  Luckily, I've never seen one in person and never hope to too!

Here is a picture of what i have not yet opened on the table on the lanai, along with the two little baggies of tiny black seeds from a pile of pods that numbered at least 4 times the amount on the table.  Each pod appears to contain from 30-50 of the tiny seeds and each seed is separated by a tiny membrane.  The drier the inside of the pod the more brittle the separating membrane.  thus if you see any off-white powdery substance on the table area it is from those membranes.

This is the new feeder dh had in storage to put out for this winter.

 I'm betting that once I put all of those seeds in the baggies, and all of the seeds in those pods on the table, AND all of the seeds on the pods still on plants in the previous picture.... I'll be lucky to have covered the bottom.  I already have hours of de-podding logged in for that pitiful amount you see in the photo.  So free grown seed is no longer on my want menu for the birdies.

And while I'm here, does anyone know what these white spots are allover the leaves of the pod producing plants?

And what these brown spots are on the bottom of our beloved Royal Empress Tree?

and because I took it.  a close up of the seed producing pods.  Which is a very cool picture if I do say so myself!