time for caching

as i was gathering these this morning, more nuts were dropping from the tree all around me. it was an unnerving sensation. at the base of the tree was a large pile of discarded casings and chewed up bits of shells where the squirrels had been busy extracting the nuts. i have been watching the squirrels around my home, and it is clear they are industriously making their winter caches. burying their nuts, as they say. seeing that large pile of gnawed through shells makes me wonder if their winter preparations aren’t a little bit like the holiday cookie baking at our house–one cookie set aside for the holiday buffet, one for me. one for the giftable cookie tin, one for me. one for basket going to the neighbors, one for me.

american black walnuts (Juglans nigra)

*according to webMD, black walnuts have higher levels of antioxidants, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and other health-promoting compounds than the more common English walnuts, making them useful in reducing the risk of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.