Black Walnut Dye

I spent a couple of hours one morning walking around my parents' new property and found that they had two Black walnut trees. Walnuts were scattered all over the grass and with my recent passion for collecting nuts, I decided I would collect these black walnuts too. I collected several grocery bags worth before deciding I had enough. Over the next few days I started removing the outer hull from the nuts. I found out it was a time consuming process that was decidedly dangerous... in that anything and everything that got sprayed as I cracked open the hull, was instantly dyed brown. So, I had brown speckled legs, arms, feet... thankfully I knew enough to have gloves on and to be outside, however, my gloves ended up having a few holes and some of my fingers also got stained.

Nevertheless, the misfortune of having brown fingers gave me the brilliant idea to try and make a natural dye... something I have always wanted to try. With great enthusiasm I made my way to the local Samaritan center to pick up a used pot and a white shirt; then I waited for the right day to start the process.

Unlike my acorn flour adventure, I did a bit more research this time before starting the process, though that doesn't mean I followed all the directions to the T. So here's what I did:

 Collect about 15-20 Black walnuts

With gloves on, remove the hull (which is the green casing enclosing the nut) and place broken up hulls in an old nylon stocking. (The stocking is helpful in keeping all the pieces together and helps eliminate the need to strain out the pieces from the dye at the end.) The hull will oxidize very quickly to black... that's normal.

Place the stocking full of walnut hulls in an enamel or stainless steel pot with 1 gallon of water.

Bring the pot to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for one hour. For darker shades of brown, soak the hulls in the water for a longer period of time. (WARNING: the smell of walnut hulls cooking is strong, though not necessarily unpleasant, and will permeate everywhere... so be sure to have good ventilation, open windows, fans, etc.)

While the dye is simmering, prepare the fabric you plan to dye. In another pot, boil 1 gallon of water with 1/2 teaspoon of laundry soap and 1 Tablespoon of washing soda (though I used baking soda because that's all I had). Once it has boiled, reduce to a simmer and place whatever clothes/fabric you plan to dye into the hot water and stir.  Leave the fabric in, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes to 1 hour. I just turned off the heat and let it soak until I was ready to use it. This process removes any oils, dirt, or anything else that may hinder the dye from evenly coating your fabric.

At this point, some sites recommend placing your clean fabric in a fixative, which will allow your clothes to absorb the dye more readily. When making dye from plants (like black walnuts), the fixative would be 1 part white vinegar with 4 parts cold water. Let the clothes sit in this fixative solution for an hour and then rinse the clothes in cold water before dyeing. I didn't have vinegar, so I skipped this step.

When your dye is almost ready, remove the fabric from the cleaning pot and rinse thoroughly.

After an hour, I took everything outside so I wouldn't accidentally stain the kitchen. I carefully removed the stocking full of cooked hulls from the water and now I had a beautiful dark brown dye ready to be used. 

Place your still wet fabric into the dye and stir. Technically it is suggested that you continue to simmer the dye with the fabric. I decided the water was hot enough and I wasn't looking for a really dark shade of brown, so I just let the shirt soak. Every 10 minutes or so I would stir the shirt to make sure it would be evenly dyed. It also allowed me to monitor the color. You want to stain it at least one shade darker than you eventually want because when it dries, it will be lighter.

I soaked my shirt for about 30 minutes, then removed it from the dye and rinsed it in cold water until the water was running clear. If you want a richer shade, let it soak in the dye longer, even overnight if you want.
(WARNING: Make sure that you wash your dyed clothes separately the first time because some dye may still seep out and you wouldn't want to accidentally dye your other clothes.)

Yes, my gloves had holes and here's proof that the dye will stain your hands.

 Here's a before and after picture of the shirt I dyed. I actually really like the color that came out.

Since I had extra dye, I decided to stain one of my boards. The two boards were the exact same color, but as you can see the one on the right is now a rich brown after being stained with the Black walnut. I love it! 



Here is where I got my info:  Practical Primitive

And this awesome site gives a long list of other plants and what colors they create: natural dyes

Food falling from above

The other day I decided to take a walk in the woods because the weather was absolutely gorgeous. The sun was shining in a perfectly blue sky, a gentle breeze was blowing, crickets were singing, and ... acorns were falling. To be honest, I was nervous that one would crash onto my head because there were so many of them dropping. Whenever I heard an acorn start falling through the leaves above me, I would swiftly place my hands on my head in a feeble attempt to protect it from possible harm. Any onlookers would have probably thought I looked like a marionette... with my arms being controlled by some unseen force :)

Then the thought came to me, "why not collect acorns to make acorn flour," something I've been wanting to try for a long time. So that's exactly what I did... I started collecting right then and there. 

This was just one spot along a trail full of acorns

I believe the acorns I picked where from the White Oak tree. The acorns from the White Oak have very little tannins, which is good when wanting to make acorn flour. Check out more info on the White Oak

When I got home I began the process of shelling them. Here was my work station. The shelling process took a lot longer than I expected.

Look at the beautiful acorn "meat"

It's a good idea to gather more acorns then you think you will need because you may find that some are infested by worms or other insects.

At this stage you may be tempted to take a bite out of the delicious looking nut, but don't! It will taste bitter! Though White Oak acorns are not as bitter as Red Oak for example.

I ended up shelling about 2.5 cups of acorns. Notice how the water I placed the acorns in is turning yellow/brown. This is the tannic acid starting to leach out. (The 2.5 cups of whole acorns made about 1.5 cups of acorn meal)

Once I had the desired amount of acorns, I drained the water and replaced it with clean water. Then I blenderized the whole thing until the acorns were ground up. I poured the milky looking mixture into a pot and cooked it until it had boiled for a couple of minutes, stirring continuously. (As a side note, though I stirred continuously, the bottom of my pot still burned... not sure why.) Also, I found out that I should have put the acorns into already boiling water.

After the mixture had boiled, I drained it into a "cheese cloth" which I had placed in a colander. I then ran cold water through it several times to make sure it was cool enough to handle and to supposedly rinse out any residual tannic acid. (WARNING: I found out later that normally you do not want to rinse your acorns with cold water after boiling because it will bind the tannins to the acorn, the opposite of what I was trying to do.) The boiling process also removes some of the oils, so if you want to keep that, you may choose another method of leaching your acorns. You can taste the acorn meal at this point and if it still tastes a little bitter, just rinse a few more times. Thankfully, the White Oak acorns have less tannins and my acorn meal did not turn out bitter despite my mistake.

After squeezing out all the liquid, I was left with this lovely acorn meal. I ended up blenderizing it one more time to make it a bit more fine. If you decide to use it right away, no need to do anything further, it's ready for use. However, if you want to store it for later, it's best to dry it in an oven or food dehydrator until all moisture is gone.

And here is my finished acorn bread

I have to say, it sure tasted good, but I hardly noticed any acorn flavor, which was kind of disappointing.

For those interested in the acorn bread recipe, here it is:
1 cup of acorn meal (with as much liquid squeezed out as possible)
1 cup white flour
2 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbs sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup of milk
2 Tbs olive oil

pout into greased loaf pan and bake for 30 minutes at 400F.

In my excitement to prepare acorn flour I failed to do as thorough research as I should have into how best to prepare them. There are many sites with various ways of processing acorns, but I found out that traditionally there are two main ways of leaching out the tannins: the cold water leaching (best for making flour and will thicken when cooked) and the hot water leaching (best when using them for their nutty flavor). I think I accidentally did a mixture of both and thus probably removed some of the flavor from my acorns. Though I know I made some mistakes in the processing of my acorns, I was thrilled to have finally attempted the process of preparing the acorns and actually tasting them. I will have to try again sometime and be more careful about the steps :)

Here are a few sites with more information on acorns and other ways to process them.
Acorns: the inside story
Acorns: from mush to candy
Acorn processing and recipes  - this site is awesome, with quite a few recipes

Butterfly Eclosion

I've been monitoring about eight chrysalises for the past several days. With great anticipation I make my rounds every morning, hoping that today will be the day I will see one hatch. Usually I'm too late and all I see is an empty chrysalis. But today... I noticed one particular chrysalis that looked almost see-through. I knew it could eclose at any minute and I didn't want to miss it. So, I settled down to watch and wait.

A light mist was falling... a hummingbird buzzed by and hovered for a second to look at me... cardinals, blue jays, and chickadees hopped around in the branches and sang their morning songs... and still I waited. An ant crawled up my leg... a spider caught my attention as it hung on its sparkling web... the hummingbird came back, puzzled that I hadn't moved... still nothing. I was about to go inside, when a slight movement caught my eye. I looked closely, and sure enough, a crack had formed along the tip of the chrysalis. It was eclosing (hatching, for those not sure what eclosing means). I was so excited!


I was glad I took the time to watch and wait, because it was over in about 40 seconds. Here's the proof:

 

About 10 minutes before it eclosed

After, when it was still drying its wings

Here's another one that also hatched this morning

Change is not comfortable

Come see! Come see! I called to my housemate's kids, and they came running. Slowly I turned around and revealed a beautiful orange Passion butterfly (also known as Gulf fritillary) hanging from the underside of my hand. It had hatched moments before and was still drying its wings. They gazed in amazement and excitement at seeing a butterfly so close and so still. A dozen questions poured forth, and their curiosity and wonder mingled with mine. All too soon the butterfly flew away, but I suspected that where there was one chrysalis, there might be others and so we started looking.

Next to where I park my car, there's a beautiful Purple Passionflower vine. The long tendrils of the vine have slowly crept over the fence, the bushes, and even a small tree, but I've enjoyed seeing the large, intricate flowers in bloom. As we were walking along the fence looking for possible chrysalises, I noticed some bright orange caterpillars with rows of black spines munching away on the Passionflower leaves. We saw one... two... five... ten caterpillars... There were so many!

Looking around some more, I spotted a chrysalis hanging from the fence, then another and another. While I was intently examining the vine, a Passion butterfly landed on a Passionflower leaf in front of me and deposited a tiny yellow egg. I was thrilled! We are studying insects this week with the kids and I wanted to discuss the butterfly life cycle. However, I had not expected to be able to SHOW them the life cycle...this was so much better than just talking about it.

We found one of the caterpillars climbing up the side of the house and I decided it would be the perfect specimen for observation. The kids and I carefully placed the caterpillar in a large container with some twigs for it to climb on. By the evening, it had selected a spot on the twig to begin spinning a white, silk-like spot. I was sure that by the next day it would have transformed into a chrysalis, but the next morning it was still there, hanging upside down on the white silk anchor. By noon, the caterpillar's color had changed from bright orange to a grayish color. At various intervals throughout the day we observed its skin contracting as it slowly prepared itself for its transformation into a chrysalis. It seemed to be taking forever. Finally, about 24 hours after it had created its silk anchor point, the caterpillar metamorphosed into a chrysalis. The change happened within the span of about 1 minute and I was so excited to be able to watch the whole process. (I apologize for the poor quality of the video. I was taking pictures through a plastic jar full of scratches).

Metamorphosis means change or transformation. Did you know that the Bible also talks about metamorphosis? In Romans 12:2 it says, "And be not conformed to this world, but be ye TRANSFORMED (the Greek says metamorphose) by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Also in 2 Corinthians 3:18 it says, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are CHANGED into the same image from glory to glory..."

Observing the caterpillar's complete transformation process has really made me wonder at the transformation God wants for us to go through. While the caterpillar changed into a chrysalis, it struggled and squirmed from side to side; as the butterfly emerged from the chrysalis, it too struggled to push itself out. It appears that change is not a comfortable process. But once the old self has been done away with, what joy and beauty will we experience? That is something I can only wonder at!

What happened to my roses?!!!

It's that time of year again where the Japanese beetles have emerged and are voraciously feeding and mating in large quantities on our once beautiful rose bushes. Once one appears, it seems like hundreds follow. I found out there's actually a reason for that. As it turns out, as the beetles eat, they release a pheromone that attracts other adult beetles. So, yes, where there's one there will soon be hundreds.

 Japanese beetles don't live very long (about 30-45 days), but during that time the females will lay eggs every 24-48 hours. If the conditions are right, those eggs will hatch in about 2 weeks into grubs that will feed on the roots of grasses and other plants until the following summer. In other words, these beetles do damage above and below ground at all stages of their life. They are considered one of the most destructive garden pests.

Check out their life cycle:

Our specific beetles particularly enjoy our rose bushes and our grape leaves. However, they will not limit themselves to these plants. Japanese beetles will feed on the leaves and flowers of over 300 plants. Studies have shown that their favorites include roses, hibiscus, grapes, raspberries, sassafras, and Japanese maple.

It has been said that in order to control these destructive Japanese beetles, one must understand their life cycle and have a plan for attacking both the grub stage (which is hidden underground) and the beetle stage (which is visibly destructive). I believe there may be a lesson in there for us. In order for us to blossom into what God wants for us, we need to have His help in destroying/ getting rid of the obvious sins and the secret/hidden sins that can and will destroy us. Just as the plant cannot rid itself of the beetles on its own, so we too must have our Heavenly Gardener's help.

80+ Outdoor Summer Activities

Need a list of outdoor summer time activities? Well, here are a few. No more excuses! :)

1. go on a picnic
2. skip rocks

3. visit a local nature area
4. take a hike
5. make mud pies
6.  start a nature journal
7. set up your tent and have a camp out in your backyard
8. go on a bike ride
9. go on a nature scavenger hunt
10. search for animal tracks
11. make a nature craft
12. go fishing
13. watch the sun set
14. find figures in the clouds
15. visit a lake or river
16. go canoeing
17. make a treasure hunt with clues
18. build an outdoor fort or a tree house
19. learn about 5 new plants
20. find and count bugs

Patent-leather beetle

21. create a backyard obstacle course
22. do a photo scavenger hunt
23. identify the night sounds you hear
24. watch and learn about birds
25. create a dandelion chain necklace
26. play games (freeze tag, capture the flag, hide-and-seek, sardines...)
27. stargaze
28. climb a tree
29. press flowers
30. jump in puddles
31. make homemade bird feeders
32. build a terrarium
33. plant something in the garden
34. catch and release some frogs
35. examine a fallen log
36. preserve a spider web
37. learn bird language
38. learn a new skill (swimming, fire building, orienteering..)
39. go geocaching
40. learn about edible plants

Dandelion fritters

41. learn about wilderness survival or take a course
42. go backpacking
43. visit a zoo
44. make a boat out of nature materials and float it in the creek
45. make your own rainbow
46. make a homemade sundial
47. build your own weather station
48. build a mud or sand castle
49. make your own cattail doll
50. find a sit spot and observe nature
51. visit an aquarium
52. explore somewhere new (a new trail, a new park...)
53. go on a micro safari
54. start a nature collection (rocks, seeds, feathers, shells...)
55. collect lightning bugs
56. catch and observe crayfish   

catching crayfish

57. raise butterflies
58. have a bug race
59. make and bury a time capsule
60. create a nature table to display nature treasures you find
61. read a book under a tree
62. make and fly a kite
63. walk in the rain
64. go swimming
65. walk barefoot
66. sketch a map of your backyard
67. make a wicker basket or a honeysuckle basket
68. make a sound map
69. make bannock over a campfire
70. take the tourist test and find out what you still need to learn about nature
71. design and implement a backyard wildlife habitat
72. visit a natural history museum
73. learn how to make a Willow whistle
74. create a solar oven
75. sleep out under the stars
76. clean up an area in a park or along a trail
77. start a compost pile
78. make a wind chime out of natural materials
79. build a survival shelter and if you are brave enough, sleep in it
80. feed the ducks at a local park (good options include: cracked corn, uncooked oats, birdseed, grapes cut in half, cooked rice, spinach, duck feed pellets. Bread, chips and crackers are unhealthy for ducks because the food has little nutritional value.)


Also check out this site that has many nature activities and experiments
Or find more nature activities at Nature Rocks

If you have any other fun outdoor activities you did as a kid, I would love to hear about them.