Canis lupus hominis

Posted in West Virginia | Tagged hickory nut | 5 Comments

5 Responses

1. on December 11, 2012 at 10:22 am massugu

   And the only reason its still lying there is because some little bug has already ingested all its good stuff.

   
   
2. on December 13, 2012 at 7:53 am chervilmeadow

   In Europe it’s the hazel nut which replaces hickory nuts on the menu. The grey squirrels were delighted to discover them when they first arrived here from America in the nineteenth century and we can now watch thousands of hazel nuts being cached among the leaf litter on any autumn walk. Hazel nuts were once a reliable source of food for country people here but but now the greys get them all even before they are properly ripe. But even if it were not for the squirrels I doubt if 21st century brits would often be see out gathering all the free wild harvest. These days I don’t meet many others like me gathering say blackberries or mushrooms like we all did and, as I said, these immigrant squirrels are always there first to get the nuts – which incidentally I don’t begrudge them.

   
   
   • on December 13, 2012 at 8:35 am retrieverman

     We have hazelnut trees here, too.

     We have an unbelievable diversity of trees in these forests.

     
     
3. on December 13, 2012 at 11:43 am M.R.S.

   When I was 6-7 years old we lived in West Virginia. I remember our family gathering black walnuts (burlap bags full), then spreading them on the concrete driveway where Dad drove the car over them repeatedly to break up the hulls. Then there was the chore of actually opening the hard, sharp-ridged shells (which were unaffected by the car’s tires), and picking out the nutmeats. By that time we really appreciated what a treat they were. Especially when added to chocolate-chip cookies!

   
   
4. on December 13, 2012 at 12:38 pm massugu

   The squirrels always beat us to the Hazelnuts and Pecans (a species of Hickory) as well. They eventually will get all the Black Walnuts and Butternuts as well if we don’t gather them in time. In re these last, I use a corn sheller to remove the husks and a post-vise to crack the shells.

   
   

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