There's a tree on our fence line, too. It's huge, and probably does belong to the neighbors, but it hangs all it's heavy limbs over our shop building. Two autumns ago I picked up all the green baseballs and threw them in the portable cement mixer with some water and rocks, and beat all the husks off the nuts. I did this for two days, there were so many. Then I commenced to trying to crack the nuts open. No luck. Finally I went and bought a bench vice. Tried to use it without attaching the vice to the table. Still no cracked nut. I became so frustrated with the whole process, I just left the nuts in the bucket and never got a single one open!

The next spring the tree died. This spring hubby got a lift and cut all the limbs he could reach. He dropped one on the roof of the shop--didn't damage the brand new metal roof, but when he tried to get it off, it slammed into the side of the buildling and put a hole in the wall. Now we have birds nesting in the shop.

That black walnut tree has put me through the ringer!

Karen