The tree with the golden leaves in the center of the photo below is a black walnut. You can tell where the coldest wind comes into our yard, over the hedges where the tree faces the open gap between the taller firs. The leaves in that area, except for a few near the  top of the tree, are hit the hardest by the cold weather that is moving in, so those are the first to go.

Below, you can see some walnuts still hanging onto the branches, waiting for another big gust of wind to knock them down.

The walnuts are inside a thick husk that comes off easily enough if you step on the walnuts once they have fallen to the ground. Wear gloves!!! You can peel that husk off after stepping on the nuts, and take off that outer coating. Even with gloves, you may find your fingers and fingernails stained from the walnut juice and you will be mistaken for a two-pack-a-day smoker.

These walnuts are different from the English walnut that we are most familiar with. Black walnuts have shells that are much thicker and harder than the English walnuts. It’s no exaggeration to say that you may need a hammer to crack the black walnuts. A simple nutcracker won’t work. The nuts are also more bitter, possibly because the trees produce a toxin called juglone that will eventually kill some kinds of small plants trying to grow near the walnut tree.

Even though the husks are bitter, squirrels don’t seem to mind the strong taste of the nut meat. The only problem is that the walnut shells are SO thick and hard and tough that  the squirrels would have quite a challenge to open them. It is really helpful to give the nuts a good crack with a hammer to open them up before giving them to the squirrels.

I’ve collected several pailfuls of these walnuts. The squirrels are happy to have a snack of five or six walnuts every day.

For ME? You don’t say!