Black Walnut Adventures

I was recently introduced to the Eastern Black Walnut tree juglans nigra through its fruit, which hung heavy and green, like smooth golf balls. Parts of last year's crop that the squirrels had spared lay dried in the grass, but the fresh new fruit smelled fresh, almost citrusy. Evan, the tree owner, advised that the nuts are very difficult to open. He may as well have thrown down a glove.

Back home the children and I tried to crack it. The husk came off relatively easy with a knife. Immediately the flesh began to oxidise and turn brown. After rendering inoperable a heavy-duty and formerly rather nice nutcracker, we conceded that black walnuts are, in fact, rather hard to open. We also noticed that my hands were turning various shades of yellow to dark brown and black, as was the counter top, and ... it didn't come off. Emma wondered if this is why it's called black walnut. We took the stubborn nut outside and pretended we were hunter-gatherers, smashing our dinner open with a rock. Success! Tasty, but hard-earned. No wonder they are so expensive to buy.

Having already discovered the dyeing properties, we then decided to dye something for real. Using a piece of white cotton fabric, the result was an earthy dark brown. Not a colour en vogue this year, but it would be perfect for camo gear. Thank you Evan for inspiring an afternoon of fun and discovery!

Naked Tree Climbing

ALEXANDER was having some fun running away from his bath. Up a tree was an excellent place to hide.

While there he noticed the dogwood berries just beginning to form and was quite intrigued about what might eat them. Not content with "squirrels and birds", he wanted to know what kinds of birds. I said we'd have to wait until they are ripe and watch to find out. He wanted to wait there until they were ripe but looked like he just might reconsider when I said he'd have to sleep in the tree for many nights. A warm bath did sound preferable, after all.

Fairy Trees

THE summer is just the time for nature study. We often walk the same same stretch, and it's fun to notice different things each time then draw it and maybe read up on it at home. Today we looked at trees, and Emma especially liked a tree that she said had fairies all over it. The leaves were feathery and "nervous" (they slowly closed up when touched). The "fairies" are the white and pink feathery blooms. It has a smooth bark, and in the autumn has long (30cm or so) brown seed pods. It was a Silk Tree, sometimes called Mimosa, but - curiously - dubbed "foamy" by the children. It grows all over the place here in the south US - beautiful, but invasive. Since then, spotting "foamies" while we walk or drive has become a favourite pastime.

Great Trees

Music by Malcolm Dalglish, Text by Wendell Berry

Slowly, slowly, they return
To the small woodland let alone:
Great trees, outspreading and upright,
Apostles of the living light.









Patient as stars, they build in air.
Tier after tier a timbered choir.
Stout beams upholding weightless grace
Of song, a blessing on this place.

They stand in waiting all around,
Uprisings of their native ground,
Downcomings of the distant light;
They are the advent they await.







'




Receiving sun and giving shade,
Their life's a benefaction made,
And is a benediction said
Over the living and the dead.










In fall their brightened leaves, released,
Fly down the wind, and we are pleased
To walk on radiance, amazed.
0 light come down to earth, be praised!

Throughout our stay in California's Sequoia National Park, all I could think of was the song "Great Trees" which I recently had the pleasure to sing with a small group. It can be heard here by another group. The majesty of these trees quite takes your breath away.

Energy Hike

A good friend has an amazing ability to connect with all things around her, so we were excited when she invited us to experience the energy of trees with her and her children. At a nearby state park, we first met a giant hollowed out tree. Then Emma was invited to seek out a tree which spoke to her. We concentrated and tried to feel its energy. I won't say that I had a deep conversation with the tree - my skill in this area is evidently underdeveloped.

However, the outing was definitely thought-provoking and there was a deep feeling of peace as we stood in the middle of the forest, fully focused on the life all around us.

I was also reminded of a book we've enjoyed: Meeting Trees by Scott Russell Sanders, where a boy learns about the characteristics of trees as he takes a walk with his father.

Tree Butterflies

THEY came by the thousands, a swarm of fluttering creatures descending from the sky. They turned out to be seed pods from our next door neighbour's tree, spinning delightedly on their quest to start new life. We ran around trying to catch them, which actually turned out to be a little easier than catching autumn leaves thanks to the winged seeds' amazing design. Their flight was fascinating and beautiful to watch. These seeds have one wing only, paper thin on one end yet somewhat woody. They are scaled, also like butterfly wings. The other end is weighed down by the seed and leads the way to the earth. We collected a basketful and they became food for Emma's baby, currency in her shopping game, boats in a bucket of water, competitors to race down a homemade slide, fairy wings and so much more. They continued to drop in on us, seemingly intent on participating in our whole day. We obliged by making the winged seeds the subject of our art project. We never did get around to checking exactly what kind of a tree they come from, but we did enjoy their company.

Seed Pods

RECENTLY we've had fun observing and collecting some interesting seed pods. We discovered some large woody pods that produce a percussive rattle when shaken. When we used them as musical accompaniment at our circle time, we also discovered that if you shake them really wildly, they pop open like dragon mouths and spit out thousands of tiny seeds. This was the Empress Tree seed pod. Photo: http://tree-species.blogspot.com

The Tulip Tree not only has leaves shaped like a tulip, but after most of its cone-shaped seed pod has fallen off, the tulip-shaped base remains. Photo: www.wcisel.com

Though the delicious underfoot crunch of Autumn is behind us, we found ourselves crunching on long woody seed pods on a hike the other day. We have not been able to identify this one, but the long bean-like shapes made great boats for a game of 'pooh sticks'.