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Showing posts with the label black walnut trees

Walnut Wood Rounds - Firewood and Woodworking Projects - Storage and Preservation - November 2023

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Our neighbors to the West were having a Walnut tree limb taken down recently and the tree guy who was doing the work was the same one that gave me a bunch of Ash firewood almost three years ago to the day.  At that time - and in this post - I called it all Ash.  But, now that I look back, it is clear that they included some Walnut in the mix, too.   They tossed (just like last time) a number of rounds of wood over the fence and I stacked them up in a spot to figure out what to do with them.  You can see that pile above - and you can also see that some of the pieces required a little bit more cutting with my chainsaw.   Now...knowing that this is Walnut gave me pause.  Sure...I could store it, process it, split it and burn it.  But, it also has woodworking value as Walnut.  So, I decided to select a few pieces to pull out and store separately.  I texted with my brother-in-law (a woodworker and carver) about if he'd want some of the Walnut and he said he would.  I grabbed about a d

Little Honey Oakleaf Hydrangea Summer Update - August 2023

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Just a few days ago, I posted photos of three (happy) Little Lime Hydranges in our backyard garden.  They are NOT the only dwarf varieties of hydrangeas that we have planted.  We also have three Oakleaf hydrangeas - Little Honey - that are from the Morton Arboretum plant sale.  I put them in the ground in May of 2022 .  These were gobbled up/gnawed-on by the dang rabbits, so I protected them all Winter. All three re-emerged this year with foliage.  But, suddenly...one of them has taken a turn.  See below for the current state of these three.  Clearly a 'good', 'middle' and 'bad', right? They all appear to be dealing with similar conditions:  light and water.  One of them is a TINY bit closer to a large Black Walnut tree, but I don't think that could be the issue.  Could it? I'll keep an eye on the troubled one, but my hunch is that it may NOT make it through this year.

Peachberry Ice Heucheras Planted By Firepit - May 2023

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Some of the plants that we brought home from the Morton Arboretum annual plant sale were things that *had* to go in a specific spot.  I KNEW IMMEDIATELY where the Spine Tingler Epimedium was going to go.  Same with the Merlin Hellebores.  But, there were other plants that we bought that I KNEW I wanted to go in our garden, but also knew that there were a handful of spots that were viable options for their location.  The Dark Side of the Moon Astilbes are an example.  I put them on the southside, but I could have put them in a like 5 different spots. Another one that is similar are three Peachberry Ice Coral Bells - or Heuchera Primo Peachberry Ice.  The sign from the sale is at the top of this post that details these beauties.  But...that last line is the one that is most compelling:  Tolerates Black Walnut.  Isn't that interesting?  We have a bunch of Black Walnut trees.  We've lost some Heucheras over the years - like these Dolche Apple Twist varieties - that I didn't co

Black Walnuts Stored And Shared In Winter - January 2023

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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.