Soon it'll be time to go walkin in the woods again. About a week after our first frost lil dumplin and I go to the woods with our 5 gallon plastic buckets. We drive as far as we can because we just can't walk like we did years ago. We have several hickory nut trees in our memory and head that direction. If it's dry enough we can usually drive within 50 feet of each one. We spend the next couple hours or so pickin up those big Bottom nuts. Sometimes we "shuck'm" right there and build a little fire. Skeeters are ususally bad at that time of the year-gettin in their last bites on us humans. The smoke helps runn'm away plus gives us something to smell, look at and even warm up by, if the weather is that chilly. When we have all the nuts we want we usually just go ahead and look around some more. In the area with the most abundant trees, there's little field roads runnin throughout the woods so farmers can get to the other fields of theirs. We drive those little roads and look at how much the woods have changed since last fall. Folks from town sneek down into those river bottoms woods and cut firewood. Some are real destructive in their "thievin" and cut green,live trees. At times they leave branches and other stuff in the road so you can't get through without movin their leftovers outta the way. It makes me kinda mad that they in their haste to not get caught, leaves this out in the way. I don't own that property but am friends with the man that does. He'd give'm all the firewood they would want and need if they'd only ask'm. He's told me so! Well, after spending quite a bit of time in the woods we head on out and to higher ground. We keep a few nuts but give the rest away. I've often thought about takin the video camera along and shoot all this stuff but then get to thinkin about it and decide not to. Just WHO would be interested in this dull country livin fun? Also, lil dumplin wouldn't want me doin all the shootin whilst she does all the pik'n up! Oh yes, we do take our guns when we go into the bottoms. How about some of that choc fudge, I posted the buildin directions awhile back on the forum, with a bunch of these big hickory nut meats embedded in'm? Talk about it not gettin any better'n this----YOU CAN'T! Matt. 24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), August 20, 2000

Answers

Hi Hoot! My Mom would be so jealous!She loves Hickory nuts!!!! And fudge with big hickories...Mmm! May the Lord continue blessing you and yours, In His love,~~~Tracy~~~

-- Tracy Jo Neff (tntneff@ifriendly.com), August 21, 2000.