Hi Hollywog,
You are wise to wait. I wondered the same thing last year. It took until about Thanksgiving for the pods to turn tan and split open. The seed is black, flat and looks like the wing on an insect. If you lay one on the lens of a flashlight tha'ts on you'll see the embryo at the thickest end. Plant the whole seed. I plant a number of seeds in a circle and several in the center of the circle so you get a full sized plant not just one leaf. I winter sowed mine and had success. If you go over to the winter sowing forum and do a search you can find the picture Trudi has posted of a Hosta stem pod that's fully ripe and opening.
Hope this helps.
Tina