Friday, October 4, 2019

Tough nut to crack

Crows eating walnuts

With Furman Park closed for Measure S renovations, I'm doing a lot more dog-walking on my neighborhood streets. And recently, Max and I were bombarded by walnuts, which was strange, because we were walking under a pine tree!

There are several walnut trees in our neighborhood. I know this because the squirrels collect the nuts, bury them in our yard, and then forget where they left them. I continually find small walnut trees growing in my yard.

But it turns out that crows love walnuts too! Max and I encounter hordes of crows every day—in the yards, in the nearby trees, or flying away as soon as they see Max. Often, there are 20-30 crows, cawing with excitement.

But walnuts have to be cracked to enjoy. And the crows do this by taking the walnut to the top of a nearby tree and dropping it, where it hits the sidewalk or the street and cracks open. (And makes a mess on the sidewalks.)

And that's why walking Max has turned into an adventure of dodging walnuts.

Crows eating walnuts