Tumbleweed

There is a storm raging out there, it is 20 degrees Celcius, which is way too warm for February and the sun is shining. Tumbleweeds have been blown from open fields into the streets of residential areas and this one was caught in our bushes.
It is round, has a diameter of a yard ( a meter) at least and is from top to bottom covered in nasty, very sharp thorns. They are said to have been brought into the US from Russia (with love, I suppose...)
There are areas where there are so many that they threaten the population. The above article shows some interesting pictures of what has to be done, when too many tumbleweeds show up.
Still, they are a miracle, one of so many, of nature. Everything in them is built to make them move and hook up to a new place where they can make new ones.
here are two more views.

The most amazing story that I ever heard about tumbleweeds was about that woman in Texas, I believe, who started collecting and selling them on ebay. She made a surprisingly good business, sold the plants to people who wanted to decorate in a certain way or needed them to make some cowboy movies look more realistic :-) She said she made about $ 5000 each month...