So who knew, Walnut Edition

I love walnuts, so when I was told the location of the English Walnut Tree at the Diamond D I merrily set forth with my bucket and nutcracker, envisioning an hour of sitting in the warm October sun, stuffing my face with walnuts.

Whoa!

Walnuts have HULLS. Thick green hulls which are messy and difficult to remove until they turn brown and crack. At which point one risks the squirrels making off with the good ones (like they did with the hazelnuts). So in the spirit of Save the Walnuts (especially save them for ME) I picked the ones I could reach and proceeded to remove the hulls. This involved a hammer, nutcracker and not a little perseverance. But sitting outside and watching the Spotted Towhees while pounding walnut hulls is not at all an unpleasant way to spend an hour or so. Then George showed me The Other English Walnut Tree. The one where the hulls had cracked and practically fell from the nut. But I’m sure the ones I sweated over will taste so much better.

When hulling walnuts, wear gloves. ”The indelible dye from the husk stains hands, clothes, tools and work surfaces”

When gloves develop holes, put on new ones. My thumb looks like I have just voted in Afghanistan. The rest of my fingers merely look like a hygiene problem.