Every autumn, in April, we enjoy going foraging for walnuts. There are a couple of places where we take Finn walking that we know have big old walnut trees, which are off the beaten track and where the walnuts lie on the ground untouched.
The last couple of weeks we have had some beautiful autumn weather, perfect for foraging. On a day that was warm and still and sunny, we took our bags and headed for the river. Away from civilization, we were surrounded by trees, birdsong, bees, dragonflies, and fantails.
It was clear from the dense undergrowth and foliage that not many people had come down this way.
We discovered a crabapple tree on our walk.
When we reached the walnut trees we had to search beneath the undergrowth for the nuts, however there were plenty to be found, and Finn was keen to help! We filled our bags and left plenty for the next forager to find.
Several chatty fantails accompanied us on our walk, flitting from branch to branch. They rarely stay still for more than a moment at a time, so it is very hard to photograph them, but Nick managed to capture these ones.
Then it was down to the river for Finn to have a swim.
Now I have to wait a few weeks for the walnuts to dry before I can make my favourite caramel date and walnut cake!
Foxgloves and Bumblebees 
Such a beautiful, lush wooded area. I would love to be able to pick fresh walnuts. They must taste so much different than the ones we buy in the stores up here in Canada. Thank you for sharing.
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It is a lovely place for walking Finn. We always look forward to this time of the year when we can gather the walnuts fresh. Have a great day!
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Beautiful photos Christine. Lovely countryside. It’s wonderful to harvest nuts that way.
I did something similar when I lived in a cherry growing area in Central West NSW. But it wasn’t the cherries I harvested (we were given plenty of those!). Just down the road from our house were two trees that had grown beside the road. One was a plum tree, and its tangy fruit mad delicious jam. The other was an almond tree. I collected lots of nuts. I’d put a bucket of them in the outside laundry.
I noticed the next morning that there were a lot fewer than there should be and there were broken shells all around. I thought it might have been my young sons, but it turned out to be our Blue heeler dog. He loved them! 🙂
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Thanks, Linda! It must have been wonderful having a plum tree and an almond tree just down the road from where you lived. Last year I kept our walnuts in a bucket in our shed and, like you, I noticed there were broken shells everywhere, especially all through the wood pile. Eventually we found out it was a rat eating them. I never knew that rats had such a fondness for walnuts! I can imagine your dog loving the almonds. Finn loves eating walnuts!
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Please pass my compliments onto Nick for his fantail photos – they are lovely! I think they are my favourite birds. We had 11 of them outside our kitchen window the other evening – it was hard to count them as they flit around so much!
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They are lovely little birds. I love how they follow us on our walks and come up so close. It must be wonderful to have them in your garden!
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Wow, what a magical landscape that is! Beautiful land you are living in, Christine! I can imagine what a wonderful day that must have been. I love the pictures of the dog and the bird; so cute! That was quite a photoshot of the dog flying in the air, lol. And what a beautiful river that is too. You almost took me with you on this trip with all the pictures illustrating that day. Just ‘simply’ beautiful, all of it. Walnuts always make me wonder how much they must have a connection to our brain and gut. I think they are very healthy for us to take in. They look like the brain inside, don’t you think?
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It is a lovely place to go walking. You’re right, a walnut does look like a brain! Very fitting that they should be one of nature’s superfoods!
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Oooh the fantails really do have fan tails. 🙂
A lovely walk and being able to collect walnuts is a bonus. X
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They are amazing when their tails are fanned right out like a full fan, but even harder to photograph!
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Such a beautiful place…so lush💚 Mother Nature is always amazing and very soothing to the soul💚💚
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She really is!
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Wow, how amazing to pick walnuts! The walnuts are huge too and your cake sounds delicious 😁. I so enjoyed joining you, the walk looks so beautiful. That’s a lovely photo of you too! Finn looks like he had fun, I like how you captured him in mid air on one of the photos …lol 😉. Happy wishes! J 😊 x
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Thanks, Jo! It was a fun day!
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I grew up with 2 walnut trees on our property. Oh were those nuts awesome!
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How wonderful having your own walnut trees when you were growing up! I would love to have a property big enough to grow lots of nut and fruit trees!
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wow. so thats what a walnut tree looks like. 😊👍
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Lovely photos and especially photos of the Fantails, as I have not seen those birds before.
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Thanks, Liz! Fantails are a New Zealand native bird. They are quite common in gardens and forests and are very friendly. Some people even have them coming inside their houses!
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I bet they are lovely to watch.
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