Raining Walnuts and Butternuts

Currently our days and nights are complimented by the harmonies of late season crickets and falling nuts. The Black walnuts (Juglans nigra) and Butternuts (Juglans cinerea) began losing their gold-turning leaves in September, and as they shed the last of them with their fruits, the beauty of their skeleton shines through for the cold seasons.

Nuts tend to fall in groups – probably when a squirrel runs by shaking a few loose – and land with a soft thud on the earth (or a clatter when they hit trucks and rooftops). Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to get a nut-picker for the season… perhaps next year!

Spring is Coming!

The breeze is warm tonight at sunset. This black walnut will be one of the last trees to put out leaves this spring, followed by the butternut.

I have a great collection of images to share with you this week showing the first signs of swelling buds on trees and flowering plants. I'm also going to do something about that header - thanks for your patience while Arboreality enjoys a little maintenance.

Fresh Snow in Philadelphia

The farm and its surrounding forests are donning a fresh blanket of snow today. Right now, we just have a dusting that allows the gold of dead grasses and blush of red rosecanes shine through in the snow. We may get up to three inches, but I won’t be holding my breath. ;) Don't you just love the way snow highlights every curve on those trees?

Ice and Snow

I just love the bark of the black walnut trees!

The tree up the road

Doesn’t this tree look like it could just pull up its roots and walk away?

One of my favorite parts of tree blogging is working with the mystery trees. This tree is growing at the end of someone’s driveway about a half a mile up the road from my cottage. I am not yet sure of its identity, but in many ways this tree seems to speak for itself.

I first discovered it while exploring in winter, when its leafless body looked even more distinguished and personable. It wasn’t until recently that I struck the right combination of being out driving in the daytime with my camera in order to get some pictures for you. Above you can view it from both angles, as well as a few up-close-and-personals to get the feel of this beauty.

As you can see, this tree is enormous. I have a feeling that like other large, unique trees in the area, it bears a lot of history in that thick, broken trunk. In the future I will return to get a closer look at the leaves and see if I can give you a species identification.