Smack! Bam! Thwack! Thunk! Crash! Nope. I'm not quoting a comic book. Rather, These are the sounds I've been hearing outside every day and night for a little over a week. The black walnut trees are dropping walnuts at a rather fast rate. I'm seriously considering donning a helmet every time I go out into my backyard. Naturally, I wanted to crack one of these walnuts open and have a taste. First, I had to remove the outer husk. These husks tend to be green, brown, or green and brown. A pile of un-husked black walnuts Generally, the idea is to use walnuts that don't have a pre-cracked outer husk. This, unfortunately, is nearly impossible in my yard, because the black walnut trees are huge. As in at-least-one-floor-taller-than-a-2-story-house-with-attic huge. Yeah, they don't fall without cracking. And that's when you want to gather them: after they fall. If you pick them, you may end up harvesting them too soon.
Walk with me along trails that lead to green, eco-friendly living on a budget. Watch your step!