BLACK WALNUT TREES

Having lived in the day of the Brownie camera and the annoying wait for films to be developed into pictures, I highly value the iPhone's camera and photo album.  We baby boomers have the advantage of remembering the things we didn't have, which helps us appreciate what we do have.  Just this morning, I looked at the pictures we took last summer on a mini-vaca Up North.  The two of us over-nighted in our Suburu Outback, cuz we have already parted with our camper.  Memories are awakened by photographs, and the one I took at our camp site reminds me how Nature always leaves an impression on me.  Why else would I have taken this picture.

Black Walnut 

A black walnut tree grew on what was our campsite.  The tree was young with its leaves close to me, ideal for taking a photo.  

Mother Nature dressed species of trees in their special identifying foliage.  Isn't it interesting how the leaves on this black walnut tree grow at different points of a central stem?  The leaves are shaped like spears with pointed tips and jagged edges.  One identifying feature is the absence of a terminal leaflet at the end.  

Monkey Face Scar

In the fall after the leaves fall off the trees, the black walnut tree leaves a leaf scar that resembles the face of a monkey.  It's called the "monkey face."   
 
Black walnuts are touted to be an incredibly healthy type of walnut.  They're said to be a protein powerhouse, surpassing other tree nuts in protein content.  They're also said to be a good source of healthy fats and antioxidants.

Black Walnuts and
their nut meats

Some cultures associate black walnuts with wisdom, knowledge and intelligence.  It's tough outer shell and rich core symbolize the pursuit of knowledge, requiring effort to access valuable insight.  They're also linked to justice and integrity.  The tree's upright trunk and deep roots representing moral uprightness.  In some traditions, the black walnut trees are seen as protectors and bearers of good fortune

 According to the Missouri Secretary of State, Missouri is the largest producer of black walnuts in the United States.  The nut has a variety of uses.  Its meat is used in ice cream, baked goods and candies.  The shell provides the gritty abrasive used in metal cleaning and polishing, is a sealant for oil well drilling, and an additive to paint products and as a filler in dynamite.

Stockton, Missouri is known as the 'Black Walnut Capital of the World,' because the small black walnut industry finds its only shelling company there.  

The bark of the black walnut tree is characterized by broad, interconnecting diamond-shaped ridges.  When I think about the unique patterns of tree bark, I am convinced that Nature isn't just some random happening.  These features of Nature show us a level of complexity that required a Divine Designer.   From a spiritual perspective, the protective bark of a tree symbolizes Our Creator's protection and guidance of us vulnerable human beings.  Just as the bark shield's a tree from harm, so does Our Creator protect us and give us strength to endure the storms of life.

"Look deep into nature, 

and then you will start to understand everything better."