Black Walnuts Stored And Shared In Winter - January 2023

Starting in the Fall of 2021, I started to collect almost a full five-gallon bucket full of Black Walnuts that were falling from our Black Walnut trees in the backyard.  The goal - with that collection - was to try to make some home-brewed Black Walnut stain.  I ended up making a batch and gave it away for Christmas in 2021.  I wanted to try the process again this past Fall, so I was out there - in the backyard - picking up the Black Walnuts all Fall.  And started to fill the same five-gallon bucket.   That was a once-or-so-per week activity of pickup up a couple handful of green balls and dropping them in a bucket.  I topped the bucket with another bucket with holes - so it would breath.  And left it out in the landscape.  

Then, winter came.  And I never did anything with the walnuts.  No stain-making.  

I was out back splitting some Norway Maple firewood and noticed the bucket.  I lifted the lid to see that it is loaded with walnuts.  Rotting walnuts.  Or, at least...rotting husks.  See below for the bucket.  It was to the brim-full when I covered it and has since compressed by about a third:

Seeing this cache of nuts/critter food preserved and stored, I thought it was best to just simply leave the top off the bucket.  Early January is a hard time for finding food - so why not make the squirrels' lives just a little bit easier by providing them with an enormous supply of walnuts in one place.

I immediately saw some action on this bucket and hope it will get emptied in the coming weeks.