Two Wet Nuts

And this has nothing to do with my choice of cotton shorts and boxers(capilene). Yesterday’s ride was wet, the fog was late in coming this year and has been relentless in moving on.  The mist was so thick in the morning that there was puddles most of the way out to Lake Casitas, and the trees were dripping with dew.

Wishing I still had fenders on the Roadeo I made my way out towards the lake to see if I could find some free snacks to take home.  The weather out here has been unusually damp all year, and cool, hot for a bit and then cool again.  As a result the rivers are still running with water in the summer.

Usually by this time of year they are barely a trickle of a creek left.  Likewise the fruit and nuts have been all off schedule, plumping up early during the heat, but not turning ripe now that it is cool and damp again.  First stop was the walnut tree, relentless branch shaking did little more than draw a crowd of onlookers wondering what the crazy human was up too.

From there is was just a little further to check on the progress the pomegranates have been making.

Like the walnuts, the trees are loaded with fruit, but none of it near ready to enjoy.  I am looking forward to the day it all comes ripe at once.  The transition from spring to summer this year has been a mixed bag on our stretch of coast this year, even the wild flowers are a bit mixed up, some still blooming while the rest of the fields have long gone to their summer tan.

While not high yielding in wild foods, the ride was a great chance to get out of the house for a bit, and not think about the things I “should” be getting done, and yes all that tree shaking resulted in just two wet nuts 😉

 

Nocino?

Late morning walnut hunting.  The time is a little past for the early walnuts, but this tree started a bit slow this year. 

I keep track of the edibles I see out on my rides, walnuts are one of my favorites, but will not be ready for another couple of months.  Last year I had posted some pictures on flickr from a gathering expedition near the top of Sulphur Mtn., and there was a comment that I should look into making nocino.  Having no idea what that was I resorted to google and found this nocino recipe. Now off to the store this afternoon to grab a few more ingredients.   

This tree is a little easier access then the one on Sulphur mountain.