The Red Brick Times

'Tis the season to be bombarded. Every year at this time they come hurtling down from above, like imprecations and judgments.
Meteorites? Weapons of mess destruction? Frozen blue toilet water hail from stratospheric jets?

Nope. It is Autumn and the oaks are fruitful.

CRACK. bounce bounce rollrollrollroll thud.
WHACKCRACKTHUD skitterroll thud.
BAMCRACKSMACK slideskitter.

When it is dark and quiet, and the wind picks up, a platoon of squirrels with pickaxes seem to be breaking through the roof.

Thank heavens I don't have walnut trees.
Posted 11:32 AM by Andy (4) comments

       Comments:

Autumn through the keyboards of elementary students across the US.

# posted by  Andy : September 20, 2007 1:43 PM
 
I have a backyard full of huge pin oak trees. This nut crop is the biggest I've seen yet.

# posted by  whatley : September 20, 2007 2:51 PM
 
All the berry bushes and fruit and nut trees out here have produced huge outputs this year, in some cases as much as ten to twenty times last year's. My neighbor, Rose, had apples for the first time on an ornamental she planted 11 years and had given up on. Last her two grape vines had produced one scrawny bunch apiece, which the birds got. This year they look like a poster for someplace Tuscany. My wineberry bush(like a raspberry only better)gave us about a cup of berries all last year. This year we harvested a soup bowl full every day for nearly a month.

I had read that if want fruit you should slightly starve the plant into thinking it might die and it will make every effort to reproduce if it is over fertilized it will just produce foliage to feed itself. We've had very little rain this summer and I believe the exaggerated harvests may be one result.

# posted by  A. O. : September 21, 2007 4:23 PM
 
I spent Sunday feeding the masses at the Rocky River Reservation of the Cuyahoga County Metroparks. They had their annual pioneer settlers' festival, and Betsy and her daughter have demonstrated pioneer cookery for the last 20 years. I stand over a 1500 degree pit of charcoal and replenish a dozen cast iron Dutch ovens with glowing coals to keep the temperature at baking intensity. And I wash dishes.

There is a huge black walnut tree nearby. The walnut bolls were detaching themselves from 80 feet in the air and plummeting to earth with impressive concussive effects. The nut with its surrounding casing approximates the size of small smooth-bore cannon shot. Impact with the ground is heard and felt.

We warned the lone volunteer, who set up a chair caning demonstration under the Walnut's sheltering limbs. She moved her display with much alacrity.

# posted by  Andy : September 24, 2007 6:37 PM
 
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