There are several hardwood trees in our front yard. Between the house and street a half dozen Oak and Hickory nut trees tower over our driveway. The summer-time shade they provide is excellent; that and cool breezes make for a pleasant respite after tending flowers and such. Abundant nuts fall from those trees. I lived in South Georgia most of my life—among ubiquitous Pine trees; their needles fell year round. Hickory and Oak trees shed nuts and leaves shed in the fall. They fall with a vengeance; the nuts can be hazardous, in that they don’t “give” when stepped on—which can be somewhat like stepping on a skateboard.
Hickory nuts are tough; I used a framing hammer and a small anvil to crack one open. It hardly seems productive to work so hard for the meager meat from one nut. I did, however find an experiment, on YouTube that kinda solved the problem. The clip is more than ten minutes long,(it is hilarious!) but they cracked (pun intended) the Hickory nut code—in a manner of speaking. If you are really hard up for a Hickory nut “fix,” you might find their experiment helpful.
Last year, our Oak trees “blessed” us with a virtual carpet of acorns!—far more than the squirrels could eat or store! I like a variety of nuts, so I wondered if acorns could also be made edible(when I was a child, I tried one; Yuck) ? Recently an article in The Old Farmer’s Almanac showed up; it gave directions for roasting acorns. The process is long and convoluted. I have not yet tried it, but it promises results; good results, it says.
We all tend to depend on getting our food “off the shelf”—usually pre-prepared, often processed. We may have lost the knowledge of 1) wonderful— inadvertently homegrown —foods right at our doorsteps; or 2) how to prepare delicious foods that can result. A few tasty and good-to-eat foods come to mind; Pokeberry, Dandelion, Purslane, Wood Sorrel (leaves look a little like three-leaf clover), —your County Extension agent can tell you more. A caveat is that our dependence on pesticides and processing may create some health problems.
This is not a poster for Environmental issues (though I am not above doing one!), —but it could be one. I’m speaking about God’s extravagant provision for us. God’s creation and procreation provide abundantly for all creatures. Far more seeds are produced than necessary; more leaves, blossoms, needles and sprouts. It is extravagance in a good sense; to provide for the continuation of all Creation. More than needed are produced so that a few might thrive.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if humankind did likewise; I mean, could we produce more kindness than could ever be hoped for; more love than anyone anticipated; more caring for our communities than could ever be expected!? Doesn’t the writer to the Hebrews put it wonderfully? “…Let us out do each other…” ( in these things.). There is always more that we can do to make life better for each other. We simply need to pay attention.
It should not take a disaster like Hurricane Ian to bring out the best in us—caring, cooperation, helpfulness, and compassion—such as came forth over the last few weeks. These things should fall as spontaneously as the nuts fall from the trees! We have abundant capacity; nay, we have extraordinary capacity! We simply need to give release to it—maybe like an Oak or Hickory Nut tree releases showers of nuts.
©Copyright Willis H. Moore 2022
An excellent blog on nuts! Blessings!
Thank you, David!
Enjoyed your article. Rest, rest and rest. Hope you are well