Hoopskirts

Black walnuts heating on the fire One of the reasons I gathered black walnuts the other day was to make ink from their husks.  Although the name would make you guess the ink color to be black, it is actually a lovely brown.  Black walnut ink is a historic ink, along with inks made from oak galls and logwood.  I am planning on bringing my black walnut ink to the  reenactment of the  150th Battle of Chickamauga in September 2013.  I like the idea of using a homemade "make do" ink to illustrate a time when the people of the area were stretched near their limits to obtain supplies and manpower. The husk is the outmost green covering (although it may have turned brown or even a rotten black when you harvest it).  It has a pungent tannic smell and will stain your fingers as it starts to decay or if you try cutting it away from the nut.  The inner woody shell and the nutmeat itself will not color anything, nor will the English walnut you can purchase at the grocery store.

It's nearly autumn and the black walnuts are starting to fall.  I spent an hour today gleaning fallen nuts and broken bits of husks.  Black walnuts are used in many ways during the 1800s, so I try to keep an eye open for them.  Because squirrels are very fond of the nuts, it's often a race, although I am looking for the green outer husk.  I don't begrudge the squirrels the nuts, but little bits of husk strewn across the ground are so much harder to harvest.  I do want to be sure to get them before they have rotted away, so timing is important. I brought my harvest home and put them in a large pot to soak over night so I can use them for my next project.  I'll have to be sure to cover the pot tightly or move it into the shed overnight so the local squirrels don't raid them. The Black Walnut tree is a native North American tree.  This beautiful botanical print comes from the work The North American Sylva, or a Description of the Forest Trees of the United States,