Just for the Squirrels

This past week, the rain started falling and along with it the walnuts began dropping to the ground.  First day, one fat, round, green walnut; second day, two.  Then up to four.  And then none, because there were no more walnuts on the tree.  And that is not because the walnut tree is not a great bearer of fruits, because it is.  It is because the squirrels (or the squirrel, because this past year I have seen only one black one and one grey one and I think only one of them is a walnut squirrel) know that, on the day there are four walnuts on the ground, on the following day, all the walnuts on the tree are ripe.  And in the night, they come and get them all and put them in a bag of some sort, i suppose, and take them off to bury them all over the yard.  I hate that I never get to see them at this work.  But it has been the case for the past five years that the walnuts all disappear one night.

This morning, I was working in the yard a bit and decided to move some wood chips that I had been keeping in a nice pile.  I took a bucket and trowel over, and on my second trowel full of chips uncovered a beautiful walnut, nicely sequestered for a time when food was needed.  Covered it back up and went on my way.

I'm happy to leave the walnuts to the squirrels because my New Mexico daughter sends me boxes of pecans each year from her pecan tree.  But even if she didn't, I'd probably leave them to the squirrels because they know how to get them out of their green shells without permanently dyeing themselves.  Or maybe they don't, but they just don't care if their hand-like appendages turn deep brown.