In case you don’t know, this is walnut season here in California. The squirrels know, trust me. The house across the street — which happens to be my former residence and is owned by my parents — has a GIGANTIC walnut tree in the backyard. Huge. It is loaded with walnuts nearly every year.

When I lived there, I’d harvest the walnuts, taking great care to make sure every last one was properly dried, then cracked, then placed in the freezer before it was mixed into exactly the right cookie, crust, muffin or granola. Love those walnuts. Fresh are the best.

This year, however, the squirrels are the benefactors of said walnuts. If that isn’t bad enough, the puffy-cheeked little things apparently enjoy tormenting me with their abundance. Just yesterday, a squirrel literally ran across the road, jumped up MY tree, skittered across MY garage roof and into MY backyard to bury a walnut. Glad he has walnuts. Little scamp.

I understand loving the suburban wildlife, but I protest. I think that if the occupants of the walnut-tree-house don’t wish to harvest the crop, they ought invite a fellow human in to take over. Could those little squirrels possibly need THE ENTIRE CROP?

If you happen to have a walnut tree in your yard and don’t know how to harvest them, email me and I’ll give you the details. If you don’t, just know that fresh picked, hulled and dried walnuts are an incredible treat that every eater of nuts should know about! The next time you see a squirell, wish IT a happy walnut season!