Black Walnuts

Elkmont, Alabama

Weather: low 45 degrees, high 55 degrees, light rain from about midnight until about 0700 hours, cloudy

I slept good last night after a bad night on Friday night. But, Carolyn woke early like I did the night before, so she's been fighting the yawnies all day. I'm not sure what's causing these sleepless episodes, but we're over them.

When I went for my walk about mid-morning, I was keeping an eye out for black walnut trees. That tree is located in much of the south and all the way to the Canadian border. Because of it's beauty, the wood is much in demand for lumber, furniture, cabinets and other uses. The average tree is worth about $2,500, so rustling of the tree is a problem in some areas. My interest in the tree comes from the nuts, which are considered a delicacy by cooks. It is difficult to remove the meat from the nuts, so if the meat is bought, it is quite expensive.

Here's what the trees look like with green nuts and leaves.



This picture is of mature nuts with the husk still on them.



Then, here's what all the fuss is about. Not much to it, is there? And it still has to be cracked and the meat picked out. It's a lot of work for a little bit of nut. But, Carolyn wants to try them in some cooking.



I found several trees on my walk, but it was so wet and messy that I didn't want to pick the nuts up today. I'll go back when things dry out and get them.

After lunch, I met the home inspector at the house that we are possibly buying so he could do the inspection. While the inspection was going on, I was taking pictures, measuring rooms and windows, and making notes about things that Carolyn wanted. We were there about 2.5 hours as the inspection was taking place, and even though I haven't received the written report yet, the initial report from the inspector was that he didn't find anything major. There were a few things, as we expected, so we'll review the report and decide if we want to go forward with the purchase. The seller seems disposed to repair any items that are found. If so, the closing will be 11/22/10.

Regardless of what happens with the house, we should be leaving here after the closing date so we can take care of some personal business in Texas.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Charleston, South Carolina: Chucktown

Not all who wander are lost.