7th October 2021–Conkers

Tree limbs dancing in the chilled breeze on an October morning.  The sunshine filters through the foliage, sharing its warmth.  Ah, Autumn—how I love it. 

                In September I began searching under horse-chestnut trees for those big, brown, round seeds called conkers.  Or, if you’re American, they are called buck-eyes.  The first ones I found were small but usable.  Last week, when I took my dog, Maisy, out for a walk, I found myself under a different horse-chestnut tree.  While the pickings had been sparse in September, October provided a voluminous crop.  I couldn’t take a step without seeing between three and five seeds lying barely inches apart from each other. 

                One thing that most dog walkers keep in their pockets is a “poop bag.”  Actually, I keep several stashed in my coat or trouser pockets.  Pulling one out, I crazily collected those shiny brown beauties.  The bag was topped up, and I left even more behind. 

                So, what is the purpose of my harvest?  I have a craft project in mind.  The first step is to bake them, so that they don’t rot or sprout!  The last thing you want to happen is to make a piece of craft and then have mould take over.

I plan of doing a how-to post, complete with photos.  Once I get my system polished, I plan to record a tutorial video for YouTube.   So that is something to look forward to.  In the meantime, I am sharing some photos of buckeyes/conkers in situ.  I hope you enjoy them.