Black Walnuts

We have a black walnut tree on the side of our house that provides good shade in the summer and a nice limb for the tire swing.  However, in the fall it drops all those walnuts.  It wouldn't be so bad but that is the part of the yard we use the most.  It makes tire swinging like a game of dodgeball  and walking around like a game of twister ... ankle twister, that is.  So a couple of Saturdays ago I spent an hour or so picking them up off the ground...look at all those walnuts! 

Oh, and here's what my gloves looked like afterward:

I don't ordinarily like to use gloves much but those walnuts have an outer husk that leave a strong smell on your hands and can stain them for life (nearly).  When the walnuts are dry enough, the husks come off and underneath is the hard shell.  Now, that shell is very hard and you have to have a hammer (or squirrel teeth) to crack it open.  There are special black walnut crackers you can get; they are huge with an anvil area to hold them and an extra long lever handle and press to crack them.  Anyway, if you manage to get them open, you'll be rewarded with large pieces (or halves if you're lucky) of black walnuts which have their own special flavor.

Wanna try them?  I'll trade you some for pecans.  :)