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October 18, 2007 - Falling nuts can drive you mad16A • The Suffolk Times • October 18, 2007 Falling nuts can drive you mad All night long the bombardment kept up. As I was about to fall into that great reward of sleep one more was heard from another part of the house, hitting and then rolling off the root There were no foreign invaders attack- ing us; we were under attack by falling hickory nuts For the past week we have been under a constant threat of being hit by these rock -hard nuts During the night and into the room- ing an extra -heavy attack could be counted on whenever there was a gust of wind. Then there'd be a rain of nuts that would result in a variety of sounds, depending on what was hit. One of the loudest and most provocative was when one of those oversized green bombers hit the bottom of our overturned canoe. The noise from that hit on the alumi- num canoe almost sounded like a gun going oft The impact of these nuts is so great that we don't leave the car out of the garage; otherwise it would be pock- marked by dents from falling nuts So true was the threat from damag- ing nuts no matter where we were, I thought of wearing a safety helmet when we later decided to go out on the patio to eat! It was there we had one of our closest encounters We had just set- tled down to eat when a green projec- tile about the size of a golf ball hit the table. It hit between a plate and a glass with such force and noise it scared the bejesus out of us That was too close! We promptly picked up our food and moved farther out on the lawn to where the open sky proved a safe haven. The impact of these nuts from the treetops practically ruined my green- house one year. I had to replace the roof glass (90 percent cracked or bro- ken) with quarter -inch Plexiglas Now when the greenhouse is under siege we hear a softer sound instead of crashing and falling glass The ordeal of these nuts hitting something is one thing, but trying to walk across the lawn covered with these round ball- bearing -like nuts is almost like walking on ice. You have to watch your step and go really carefully when you put your foot down, other- wise you can twist an ankle or, worse, you could slip and fall. Leaving the hazards of falling hickory nuts, let's take a closer look at the hickory nut from the beginning to i g, ,, ti; ..t+ K t t Left: Hickory nuts come in two sizes — regular, almost the size of a nickel, and large, almost the size of a golf ball. It's these big ones that can really do damage when they drop. Right: Right side up, upside down — it doesn't matter to this friendly gray squirrel, who raids our bird feeders and boldly sits and eats to its heart's content right in front of us. its end. It all starts, like any fruit, with a flower. The hickory tree has hanging clusters of insignificant flowers that eventually drop and in their place the nuts start to grow. As time passes, the nut matures and separates from the tree and falls to the ground or on our canoe or the dinner table or the green- house or lands on the lawn with a thou- sand others The life of the hickory nut doesn't stop there. So what does hap- pen to all those fallen hickory nuts? Most of them are eaten or taken by squirrels and mice and other rodents There's the little deer mouse that hoards them in my woodshed for winter survival food. How a small mouse can carry or move this nut — what would be a Herculean job — is beyond me, yet every year as we go to the woodshed to get a supply of wood for our wood stove, there is the evidence: empty hickory nuts by the dozen. Still more in- teresting is how that little mouse can get r' a ?, i flck i.,.. i.I oi, i -. ..iii ilei,i. ulgh Left: Of all the species of hickory trees, the shaggy bark comes out on top. It has the largest nuts of all hickories. Right: Not only do squirrels like hickory nuts, the deer mouse also stores and eats these nuts. Here we see the empty nutshells that have been discarded at the entrance of the deer mouse's abode. How they can chew into these rock -hard nut casings and get every bit of meat out of the shell is beyond me. into those hard hickory shells We have to use a hammer to open them and yet the mouse is able to get into them and get the meat out Unbelievable. But probably the biggest user of the nuts is the gray squirrel He not only eats them on the spot but he's smart enough to bury some for later use; his sensitive nose directs him to the nut he buried. When the local supply of nuts becomes scarce, he'll always resort to helping himself to the sunflower seeds at your bird feeders One question people ask about the squirrel's habit of burying nuts is whether or not they always find them and, if not, what happens to then - Some of the nuts are never found. This is how many of our trees get started - We see these gray squirrels in our yards and along the highways Ninety percent of our gray squirrels are gray, the remaining 10 percent range in color from tan to brownish, and some we have right here on the North Fork are black. I often get calls from people who report black squirrels They want to know if they are a new species No, I'm afraid not; they are just a color phase of our common gray squirrel. We see squirrels year - round. Cavi- ties in big trees are favorite places to call home, but the majority of nesting sites are in the big, bulky leaf nests they build in the treetops I can always tell when one is building its nest, for I find much of their building material of green leaves and sticks that has fallen to the ground. Whether it wasn't just what the squirrel wanted or it slipped through its paws, I don't know. What I do know is the finished nest is built strong, and when the winter winds blow out of the north, Mr. and Mrs. Gray Squirrel are safe and comfortable in their waterproof treetop nest We've only spoken of the nuts of the hickory tree. The hickory tree is an interesting one. We use the wood for smoking fish, and the hardwood is also much sought after for construction work and for making handles for ham- mers, sledges, eta We enjoy our hickory trees, but when their golf- ball-size nuts come falling down on us in the fall, it's a challenge we must encounter each year. Pau! Stoutenburgh emt be reached by entail atfocusnat@oplonfine.net. • The Suffolk Times October 18, 2007 a In nu s can drive you ma Suffolk Times photo by Barbara Stoutenburgh Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh Hickory nuts come in two sizes — regular, almost the size of a nickel, and large, almost the size of a golf ball. It's big ones that can really do damage when they drop. Right: Right side up, upside down — It doesn't matter to this fly gray squirrel, who raids our bird feeders and boldly sits and eats to Its heart's content right in front of us. All night long the bombardment kept up. As I was about to fall into that great reward of sleep one more was heard from another part of the house, hitting and then rolling off the roof. There were no foreign invaders attack- ing us; we were under attack by falling hickory nuts. For the past week we have been under a constant threat of being hit by these rock -hard nuts. During the night and into the morn- ing an extra -heavy attack could be counted on whenever there was a gust of wind. Then there'd be a rain of nuts that would result in a variety of sounds, depending on what was hit. One of the loudest and most provocative was whet one of those oversized green bombers hit the bottom of our overturned canoe The noise from that hit on the alumi- num canoe almost sounded like a gun going off: The impact of these nuts is so great that we don't leave the car out of the garage; otherwise it would be pock- marked by dents from falling nuts. So true was the threat from damag- ing nuts no matter where we were, I thought of wearing a safety helmet when we later decided to go out on the patio to eat! It was there we had one of our closest encounters. We had just set- tled down to eat when a green projec- tile about the size of a golf ball hit the table. It hit between a plate and a glass with such force and noise it scared the bejesus out of us. That was too close! We promptly picked up our food and moved farther out on the lawn to when the open sky proved a safe haven. The impact of these nuts trom the treetops practically ruined my green- house one year. I had to replace the roof glass (90 percent cracked or bro- ken) with quarter -inch Plexiglas. Now when the greenhouse is under siege we hear a softer sound instead of crashing and falling glass. The ordeal of these nuts hitting something is one thing, but trying to walk across the lawn covered with these round ball - bearing -like nuts is almost like walking on ice. You have to watch your step and go really carefully when you put your foot down, other- wise you can twist an ankle or, worse, you could slip and fall. Leaving the hazards of falling hickory nuts, let's take a closer look at the hickory nut from the beginning to its end. It all starts, like any fruit, with a flower. The hickory tree has hanging clusters of insignificant flowers that eventually drop and in their place the nuts start to grow. As time passes, the nut matures and separates from the tree and falls to the ground or on our canoe or the dinner table or the green- house or lands on the lawn with a thou- sand others. The life of the hickory nut doesn't stop there. So what does hap - en to all those fallen hickory nuts? Most of them are eaten or taken by squirrels and mice and other rodents. There's the little deer mouse that hoards them in my woodshed for winter survival food. How a small mouse can carry or move this nut — what would be a Herculean job — is beyond me, yet every year as we go to the woodshed to get a supply of wood for our wood stove, there is the evidence: empty hickory nuts by the dozen. Still more in- teresting is how that little mouse can get into those hard hickory shells. We have to use a hammer to open them and yet the mouse is able to get into them and get the meat out. Unbelievable. But probably the biggest user of the nuts is the gray squirrel. He not only eats them on the spot but he's smart enough to bury some for later use; his sensitive nose directs him to the nut he buried. When the local supply of nuts becomes scarce, he'll always resort to helping himself to the sunflower seeds a' your bird feeders. One question people ask about the squirrel's habit of burying nuts is whether or not they always find them and, if not, what happens to them. Some of the nuts are never found. This is how many of our trees get started. We see these gray squirrels in our yards and along the highways. Ninety percent of our gray squirrels are gray, the remaining 10 percent range in color from tan to brownish, and some we have right here on the North-Fork are black. I often get calls from people who report black squirrels. They want to know if they are a new species. No, I'm afraid not; they are just a color phase of our common gray squirrel. . We see squirrels year- round. Cavi- ties in big trees are favorite places to call home, but the majority of nesting sites are in the big, bulky leaf nests they build in the treetops. I can always tell when one is building its nest, for I find much of their buildinp, material of green leaves and sticks that has fin to the ground. Whether it wasn't just what the squirrel wanted or it slipped through its paws, I don't know. What I do know is the finished nest is built strong, and when-the winter winds blow out of the north, Mr. and Mrs. Gray Squirrel are safe and comfortable in ,their waterproof treetop nest. We've only spoken of the nuts 'of the hickory tree. The hickory tree is an interesting one. We use the wood for smoking fish, and the hardwood is also much sought after for construction work and-for making handles for ham- mers, sledges, etc. We enjoy our hickory trees, but when their golf -ball -size nuts come falling down on us in the fall, it's a challenge we must encounter each year. Paul Stoutenburgh can be reached by email at focusnat @optonline.net. Suffolk Times photos by Paul Stoutenb Left: Of all the species of hickory trees, the shaggy bark comes out on top. It has the largest nuts of all hickori Right: Not only do squirrels like hickory nuts, the deer mouse also stores and eats these nuts. Here we see the em nutshells that have been discarded at the entrance of the deer mouse's abode. How they can chew into these rock -h nut casings and get every bit of meat out of the shell is beyond me.