Thursday, October 12, 2017

Take Three Thursday - Nuts

In an effort to notice more of the ordinary in my life, I have decided to share what I have noticed this week in Take Three Thursday.   The idea is to take photos that are linked some how; by theme, by colour, by date, by moment,  by points of view. There is no formal link in but please feel free to join in. What have you noticed this week? 

Have a peek at what others have found this week:
Maggie at: FarmersWifeDayByDay  


This week, it's about nuts, walnuts to be specific.
Walnut Nuts On The Tree
I live in an area where there are thousands of walnut trees.  There are other types of nut trees in the area, but not as many as the walnut trees which is a favourite of the squirrels.  We do have chestnut, butternut & acorn nut trees.  Walnut trees can grow up to 60-70 feet (18.2 - 21.3 meters) in height & live for a long time.  The wood of walnut trees is quite valued as it is a hardwood.  From the nuts you can make dark ink. 
Walnut Tree (to the right of the evergreen)
The large green fruit of the walnut is quite hard, we "affectionately" refer to these as green grenades.  The squirrels bury them all over the yard & garden.  Usually when buried in the lawn they don't dig them down very far & you can very easily turn an ankle walking over one of these large nuts.   The green outer covering is quite thick & hard & it's in the burying of them that softens them enough for the squirrels to open & eat the nut inside.  The chipmunks don't eat the walnuts, or at least none that I have ever seen.  I think too big for them.  The roads are a mess of the green fruit dropping on the road & when cars run over them it makes a dark brown blot.  You would think the squirrels would like that but they don't seem to bother with the squished nuts.  The pest of the walnut tree are tent caterpillars which can give a nasty sting.  We don't have any walnut trees on our property.  In early spring when the nut that the squirrel buried & forgot, sprouts I pull them out, the neighbourhood has enough of these trees!

A Crushed Walnut on The Road

 

15 comments:

  1. Are these the edible walnuts they we would see in the shops or are they black walnuts?

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    1. Black walnuts. Only the squirrels eat, I have never seen any other beastie gather.

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  2. I like the idea of you policing the squirrels' forgotten hoard come Springtime!

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    1. LOL - yes it's a tough pull every Spring, but there can be 50-60 seedlings sprouting in the middle of my rose bed :)

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  3. Interesting post. My friends in Austria have a walnut tree in their garden ... and an ever-ready supply of its fruit in the cellar!

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    1. I wonder if your friend's tree is a black walnut or sweet walnut. My own post & photos have lead me to discover more about these trees & their fruit. I'm living the reason for these Thursday posts (lol).

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  4. My mother made the best black walnut fudge, but my friends who have the trees in their yard hate the mess they make. They're beautiful to look at, however.

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    1. Oh walnut fudge! Makes me think of Christmas. My Mom made one with Carnation Milk (canned stuff) & oh the stirring required ... Black walnuts! I've been reading up on these types of walnuts & I've read that we CAN eat them! The tree it self is lovely, but oh yes those nuts!

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  5. Can't get the reply link to work but the answer is sweet walnuts.

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    1. I am discovering more about our type of walnuts but I'm still not ready to sample as yet.

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  6. Sounds like the black walnut tree is more prolific at spreading and growing than the walnut trees we get here.

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    1. Oh yes there are very prolific, the squirrels have bought in but not buried 25 this weekend! I pile in a corner of the yard so I know where they are but want to be sure I'm not taking the winter food source away.

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  7. Replies
    1. Thanks Melissa. I sometimes wish we had pecan rather than the walnut. My sister when she lived in Tennessee had 2 pecan trees & it was great having home grown nuts, especially for Christmas baking.

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    2. Oh, I wish we had a pecan tree, too! I was just thinking today that I need to make a trip to the Dallas Farmer's Market & pick up some pecans or I won't have them when the holidays roll around.

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