Rain, Rain, Go Away

10/13/13
              

     It has been gray and rainy here for several days.  Each day we have had rain, drizzle, rain, and more rain.  We have had 7 inches of rain in six days.  The ground is like a wet sponge.  I'm really craving sunshine.  The weatherman says we will see the sun sometime tomorrow.  This photo shows the back yard garden with the cosmos beaten down by the rain.  When it stops raining, I will get out and stake them.

 
    
     A sign of autumn here is the falling nuts from our black walnut tree (Juglans nigra).  Commercially, the wood of the tree is used to make furniture and flooring.  And the walnuts are used in cookies, cakes and other bakery goods, and ice cream.

    
     This is a photo of the green hulls that have the walnuts inside.  You have to be careful around the tree now, as you have a good chance of being hit with the falling nuts.

    
     Here half the green hull is torn away, and you can see the shell of the nut inside.  It is extremely hard to remove the hull and crack the shell of the nut.  Some suggestions I've read say to run over the walnuts with a car,  stomp the nuts underfoot, or pound them with a hammer.

     The squirrels have been busy gathering and burying these nuts.  I found holes being dug in my deck pots and the walnuts being deposited there.  To keep the squirrels out of my pots and the dirt they dig up off my deck, I covered the soil in the pots with pea gravel.  The squirrels don't like to dig in the pea gravel, and so will leave my pots alone.

       The jumbo begonias along the front walk seem to like the cool, wet weather.  I've had enough of it.  I hope we see the sun tomorrow.