I walk around this town and see black balls that should be snow on the branches and the ground this time of year.
I inspect these balls and see they are walnuts in the skin frozen and edible.
I hope they are not the rare poisonous kind that I would likely find if it existed (it does not). I crack the rock, taste the flesh I am amazed at the winter frozen taste of these walnuts.
There is a newly crisp spring earthy distinct flavour with these nuts, perhaps it is the freeze these nuts have gone through.
The bit more of an earth mellow crunch flesh they produce like civet coffee, natures deep freez aerobic digestion of turning stones into flesh like **frozen milk water from a stone. **
I ask the person standing on the land the tree is planted on about the nuts. He is more then happy for me to take away half a bushel of the wind fall. Saving him the effort of raking them up.
I take the bag home and process the bits rolling three or four in my hands as the frozen flesh falls of. I use the flesh to dye wool. It creates a black sludge that is heated on the stove for many hours on as low as it can go no simmer heat.
On a baking sheet and into the oven at 120degrees C for a few hours the door propped open, the stones shall sit and be rolled over in a few hours.
Hours go by the wools water reduced the black slurry when washed the wool come a nice golden brown. I'll leave more wool in longer and see if I can get a darker colour. By longer I mean days topping off the water and agitating the bowl.
After a few hours the nuts are ready to taste. They are wonderful the winter has brought them a distinct crisp mellow spring flavour.
I came across this post from 
@szasbi/there-is-also-healing-power-in-the-nutshell
There is always something to be eaten in every season. So much so, not many nuts were attacked by rodents, some were. The bounty in the valley is wonderful.
