Wednesday, October 23, 2013

A fine Autumn day.

Those wonderful days of Autumn are dwindling. The days of warm sunshine and colorful foliage are almost at an end. Jeanette and I took advantage of one such day this week to do something outdoors we both enjoy. That is to walk a woods road and just take in all that the season has to offer. We found numerous flowers that have gone to seed. Their silvery color, like icicles when hit by the sun. Milk weed pods were almost everywhere, and as we walked by an apple tree the bees were busy enjoying the flavor of a tart Mac.


A natural Autumn centerpiece. Red thornberries growing up alongside an old rock wall. The field behind it was full of milk weed and as we walked through it to the brook I felt confident the flush of a woodcock was going to happen.


Soon we came upon a prize in the Autumn woods. It was a stand of hickory trees. These strong fellows had dropped their bounty all over the ground. We had brought along a canvas bag for such a find, and we soon began to fill it up.


Wild hickory nuts are probably the sweetest nuts one can eat. They can be a bit of a problem when trying to extract the meat.


The shells are extremely hard, and if not cracked a certain way they almost impossible to salvage any meat.


I do have a method of getting the meat, and with a good amount of it Jeanette took some oatmeal and chocolate chips, along with a lot of hickory nuts and made some cookies. A fresh hot cup of Nantucket coffee and a few cookies were a treat on this fine October day.





26 comments:

  1. ooh! good harvest with sweet reward! loved the bevy of browns in your shots.

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  2. TexWisGirl,
    Thanks.
    A color that is a mainstay of the season for sure.

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  3. Brk Trt,
    WOW!! "I just love this post all around".............Phil

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  4. A nice way to capture the end of colorful autumn! It's been a wonderful season.

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    Replies
    1. rivertoprambles,
      Thanks.
      It certainly has Walt.

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  5. I don't know if I've ever had hickory nuts, but with hickory in the name it's got to be good.

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    Replies
    1. Howard,
      Thanks.
      The wood makes for some great baseball bats too.....Red Sox bats.

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  6. You're killing me with the cookies! :-)

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    Replies
    1. Apache Trout,
      Thanks.
      I'll have Jeanette fix a batch for New Years.

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  7. Love those nuts Brk Trt and the whitetails do too.. things are greying up in New England for sure..but your upcoming posts will keep things bright during the winter months..

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    1. penbayman,
      Thanks.
      Mike I just left your blog and made a comment on those whitetails.

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  8. Fall in New England! very nicely done, indeed

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    1. Mark,
      Thanks.
      The easy side of a wonderful season.

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  9. Alan
    My grandson and I both tried to get the meal out of some hickory nuts a while back and yes it took some digging; nice images of fall fading fast. Thanks for sharing

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    1. Bill Trussell,
      Thanks.
      The work is worth it as the rewards are sweet. In parts of CT the color is gone, but in some there is still much to enjoy.

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  10. The cookies!!! I have Hickory nuts in my yard that the squirrels are rapidly stashing!!

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  11. It's good to store memories of days like this as a salve to the dark days of winter.

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    1. tenkara ambassador,
      Thanks.
      Very well said. I plan to do just that buddy.

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  12. There can be so much meaning in a cookie and a cup of coffee. I appreciate the way you coalesce things into a beautiful moment.

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    1. Jim Yaussy Albright,
      Thanks.
      That's very true Jim.

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  13. Beautiful pictures... the Squirrels get all our hickory nuts before we can get any of them.

    See a few pictures I posted this morning;; Acorns, Hickory Nuts and Walnuts
    Michael

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    Replies
    1. michaelswoodcraft,
      Thanks.
      Nice Michael. It's amazing the turkeys that hone right in on them. It's been a good year for mast.

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