The end of the pecan tether

I've been very good about my daily pecan pickup, but today the crop has failed me. I worked twice as hard to find them as any other day, and only came up with 52 that were dry and not still in a hull. To further vex me, when I went out, there was a large flock of pigeons in the back yard, and a handful of the pecans I found had a hole bored in one end, as if a beak...

The puppies may be overdue for some pigeon pie, is all I'm saying. Hmph.

So that handful of pecans is unusable. Further, pecans with a shell that is not intact get thowed over the fence.

You know what amazing thing I learned this week? The pecan meat we eat is not actually a nut, but is a drupe, which is a fleshy fruit that contains a single stone or pit from which the new specimen may grow. Isn't that interesting? And don't you feel kind of robbed, in a way? It sure looks like a nut.

So, anyway, unless there are a bunch of nuts still hanging in the tree, I think the bulk of my pecan harvest is about over. I think I've gotten about 10 pounds of pecans, though, so that should yield several pounds hulled, I hope. :)

*****
All my work is completed and submitted for Mental Health and Med/Surg. Now all that remains is to study, which I'm doing all the time. Even doing housework, I'm listening to recorded lectures, so that gives me a boost, too, and maybe the house is slightly less messy. 

Today it's supposed to be around the mid-60s, and I'm going to drop some perennials into the ground in hopes that they can establish over the winter. I have some very pretty ones, too.  The only kicker is that I'll have to protect them when we do get cold weather, but that should be somewhat easily done. I can put a home depot bucket over them upside down with a rock on top, and that should do the trick. I had such a brilliant show from a completely neglected salvia this year that I vowed I'd get more drought-tolerant varieties in of the same. Should be interesting.  Tomorrow night we are supposed to have heavy storms, so I"ll let that get in and get well and properly soaked, and then I'll mulch the dickens out of them on Sunday. I love Fall weather. I'm glad to live in a zone where this is one of the best times for establishing perennials, because I love being outdoors when it's so cool and crisp. :)

Have a great Friday. :)