Walnuts, Snow Forecaster

 

     "What was that?!!" is the almost certain startled remark by anyone who has never been in my house in August, September or October.

     ~ That ~ was a tremendous thud on the roof, often several thuds together, giving the definite impression that whatever it was, would soon be coming through the ceiling.

     A large, tall Black Walnut tree lives near the front left corner of my house with branches that extend over the roof, providing cooling summer shade.  Each year, starting in early August, Walnuts begin their brief free fall off the tree.

     The edible part of the Walnut is housed in a thick light green casing bearing a slight resemble in color and size to a tennis ball but much harder.

     300 years ago, when I first moved into my house, I started tossing the Walnuts into a tree well for the squirrels eating convenience.

     Several years later, as I did my annual Walnuts tossing, I absentmindedly counted them.  I was surprised to discover that there were 128 Walnuts.  That seemed a great many until the next year when there were over 500, and another year, there were 748 fallen Walnuts.

     For someone as closely connected with Nature, both personally and professionally, as I have always been, I do not know why it took me so long to realize the connection between the number of Walnuts and the amount of snow during the following winter.

     Few Walnuts seems to indicate a winter with little or even no snow.  A snow cover of at least a foot is important for most plants because, like many mulches, it keeps the ground more even tempertured thus reducing the likelihood of often fatal heaving and thawing of the ground that can expose plant roots.

     And it is not just Walnut trees that are so smart, other nut trees like the Oaks with their acorns and fruit trees will also produce record crops followed that winter by heavy or an all ground snow covered winter.

     I reported my findings to my clients as well as the students in my adult school courses and asked that they check their own property and their neighborhood for record crops, then report back to me before Thanksgiving.  Almost all people did.

     One man reported that he usually had to pick up about 2/3's of a plastic garbage can of apples from an old apple tree on his grass to avoid making apple sauce with his lawn mower.  That year, he had been surprised that there were enough apples to fill two cans.  Based on what I had told him, and all the apples, he had purchased new snow removal equipment.  That winter, he needed them.

     Of course as everyone knows, the nuts and fruits are the result of the tree's spring flowers, but did you know that those flowers were determined the autumn before?

     So how does Mother Nature know a year ahead that animals and people will need extra food to stash in their respective abodes to provide food for a long winter?  Many little animals are often in burrows in the ground and can be literally snowed in until spring.

     Autumn 2012, was the record count ~ 1,303 ~ Walnuts that fell from just my one tree ~ the year of Hurricane Sandy, which in my area, resulted in heavy, deep snow, many downed trees and wires which resulted in 12 days without electricity at my house.

     Alas, despite all my positive thinking and affirmation saying for 2013 to be a light snow winter, Black Walnut Tree produced 1,101 Walnuts and there were many heavy snows.

     In November each year, ask your friends, neighbors and your city's forester to learn if this has been an autumn that Nature has produced scarce or abundant crops, so you can purchase added food or whatever might be needed for whatever kind of winter this may be.

 

The Wonders Of Nature Are Ever Unfolding