The entrance to our farmhouse was always much grander than the farmhouse or in fact the farm itself. The house was situated on the corner of the road, but set back probably about 100 metres, which gave us added privacy. Road noise wasn’t a problem, as the only people who drove up this road were the few people who lived on it (a total of six houses) and the mailman. A driveway wound its way in front of the house, and around to the yard. (I’m using yard in the NZ context, which means a dirt (or mud, depending on the season, or maybe concrete) yard around work buildings.) From the yard, with the dog kennels, farm buildings, haystack, and carports for the cars and tractors, and the cowshed (milking shed/dairy) at the end, there was a large macrocarpa hedge separating the work area from our private garden and little house.
Lining the driveway off the road were large walnut trees. They’ve been there forever – I realise now I don’t know when they might have been planted, but they’ve been there at least 60 years and probably 80 or more. At times they’d get so huge, joining together at the highest, leafiest points, my father would decide to “top” them, cutting them back sometimes by a third, sometimes more. They provided luscious shade and privacy in the summer, and in the winter, after they’d lost their leaves, they were a stark but still constant presence.
The walnuts would fall from the trees, and we would harvest them in autumn – around April – and spend winter evenings shelling the walnuts for sale. We only did this in my teenage years – before that they were largely left, I think – and there was never much (any?) money to be made from them. My father was really the only one who liked eating them – though I quite like them now. It was always damp and cold picking up the walnuts that had fallen to the ground, and was not a task I particularly enjoyed. I do love the trees though, and I’m always happy to see that subsequent owners of the farm have kept them. I checked they were still there when we passed by in 2018 in pouring rain, though this photo is from two years earlier. Long may they last.
Another in the Thursday Tree Love series – find all the other bloggers doing it here.
Gorgeous. Long live your tree posts!
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Wow! You are lucky to have these gorgeous trees in your driveway!
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Gorgeous trees! made more special by your memories associated with these 🙂
Loved reading this post Mali 🙂
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Oh, I’m so glad the current owners haven’t chopped them down… it always makes me sad when people do that.
You’ve reminded me how FIL used to talk about how he & his siblings would go out to scrounge up chestnuts during the war years in Italy, because sometimes that was all they had to eat. Nevertheless, he still loved them in his later years, and they’re something dh’s family will often roast & eat as a treat around Christmastime.
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Ohhh, how much $$$ I would save if I had a walnut tree. As a vegetarian, I use them quite a bit in my cooking!
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The trees are gorgeous, by the way!
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Good to see the walnut tree, I had seen the only walnut. Your memories with the tree are cherishing.
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This is beautiful and I don’t think I have seen a walnut tree. Or maybe. Not sure. These are huge and green. I loved that you shared a memory. Every tree has a story. Isn’t it? Thanks for sharing Mali. Made me happy and warm. See you tomorrow.
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We have a native variety of walnuts here–black walnuts–that are a related but completely different experience. Now I want to tell their story. I like this tree blog idea.
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Beautiful trees. Like B. said above, we have black walnuts mostly. I am not sure I have ever seen any other kind of walnut tree.
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