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(micro)
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For those that have found some of NCDAYWALKER'S hides, this micro hide will be familiar. As I was waiting on the GPS to average for 15 minutes, I saw something familiar on the ground and thought that I'd name the cache for what I saw.
The Eastern Black walnut (Juglans nigra) is a species of flowering tree in the hickory family, Juglandaceae, that is native to eastern North America.
The black walnut is a large deciduous tree attaining heights of 30–40 metres (98–130 ft). Under forest competition it develops a tall, clear bole; the open-grown form has a short bole and broad crown. The bark is grey-black and deeply furrowed. The pith of the twigs contains air spaces. The leaves are alternate, 30–60 cm long, odd-pinnate with 15–23 leaflets, the largest leaflets located in the center, 7–10 cm long and 2–3 cm broad. The male flowers are in drooping catkins 8–10 cm long, the female flowers terminal, in clusters of two to five, ripening during the autumn into a fruit (nut) with a brownish-green, semi-fleshy husk and a brown corrugated nut. The whole fruit, including the husk, falls in October; the seed is relatively small and very hard. The tree tends to crop more heavily in alternate years.
While its primary native region is the midwest and east central United States, the black walnut was introduced into Europe in 1629. It is cultivated there and in North America as a forest tree for its high quality wood. Nuts are produced more by open-grown trees. Black walnut is more resistant to frost than the Persian walnut (also known as the English walnut), but thrives best in the warmer regions of fertile, lowland soils with a high water table. It is a light-demanding species. The wood is used to make furniture, flooring, and rifle stocks, and oil is pressed from the seeds. Nuts are harvested by hand from wild trees. The black walnut nutmeats are used as an ingredient in food while the hard black walnut shell is used commercially in abrasive cleaning, cosmetics, and oil well drilling and water filtration.
Black walnut nuts are shelled commercially in the United States. The nutmeats provide a robust, distinctive, natural flavor and crunch as a food ingredient. Popular uses include ice cream, bakery goods and confections. Consumers include black walnuts in traditional treats, such as cakes, cookies, fudge, and pies during the fall holiday season. The nut’s strong nutritional profile leads to uses in other foods such as salads, fish, pork, chicken, vegetables and pasta dishes.
Nutritionally similar to the milder-tasting English walnut, the black walnut kernel is high in unsaturated fat and protein.
Tapped in spring, the tree yields a sweet sap that can be drunk or concentrated into syrup or sugar.
The extraction of the kernel from the fruit of the black walnut is difficult. The thick hard shell is tightly bound by tall ridges to a thick husk. The husk is best removed when green as the nuts taste better if it is removed then. Rolling the nut underfoot on a hard surface such as a driveway is a common method; commercial huskers use a car tire rotating against a metal mesh. Some take a thick plywood board and drill a nut sized hole in it (from one to two inches in diameter) and smash the nut through using a hammer. The nut goes through and the husk remains behind.
Black walnut is highly prized for its dark-colored true heartwood. It is heavy and strong, yet easily split and worked. Walnut wood has historically been used for gunstocks, furniture, flooring, paddles, coffins, and a variety of other woodworking products.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Oynpx.