I am so glad I happened to have my camera during a trip to the dump.

As I was tossing recycle items into the bins, I spied orange gooey blobs on the surrounding cedar trees.

(Honey you finish up here, the Flower is on a mission.)

I had not seen these orange galls/telia in about thirty years.

These are caused by a fungus, Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginiana.

The fungus uses two host trees.

The red cedar shown here is one type and the other type of host is apple trees.

The galls turn from a brownish ball to a mass of orange tentacles after a rain in the spring.

These galls/telia release spores which catch the wind and may find their way back to nearby apples trees to cause a rust on their leaves.

You never know when you may need your camera.  Always looking for a story.

FLOWER