What happens is that I see one and bend to pick it up, then I see another and another and another and before I know it my pockets and shirt tail are full of nuts and I realize that the groceries are still in the car. I just love to find food just laying on the ground. There is just something addictive about gathering food!
One of the selling points of this house for us was the two giant pecan trees in the front yard. I was so excited to find that there were still nuts on the ground when we moved in last November, that I diligently avoided unpacking so that I could gather the nuts before the squirrels got them. I gathered almost 5 gallons of pecans. Imagine my disappointment when I started cracking them only to find out that the “meat” inside was flat and dehydrated looking.
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| This pecan is just about to drop! |
From the research I did, it sounded like the trees simply hadn’t received enough water during the critical nut development time. This year, I watched for rain, watered the trees just a little when it got really dry, and fertilized them occasionally with milk that needed to be thrown out. I found the first nuts on the ground last weekend and I was shocked and a little worried to find them when I wasn’t expecting any for another month. I gathered all I found and cautiously went inside to crack them (yes, I know they need to cure awhile, but I HAD to know!) You’ll never guess what was inside! Pecan! Looks like I will get a good harvest this year as long as I can beat out the real squirrels!
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| My Squirrely Girly! |
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