More Almonds

I live on a former almond orchard, and when the developers built the house, they left a few of the old almond trees lining the driveway. Most don't produce much, but the one nearest the house usually has a good crop. So when fall rolls around, I find myself gathering almonds most days. Some days I find only a handful. On windy days I find more.

Almonds grow with a husk around them, and when they are ripe the husk splits, making the almond easy to get to. Often the almonds just pop out of the husks when they fall, so I have to keep my eyes open for nuts in and out of the husks. Also, I try to avoid empty husks, or I bend down a lot for nothing.

The husks have a furry texture, like peach fuzz, and usually I can peel the husk from the almond shell easily.

Since I've been collecting almonds, a few things have struck me:

I have to look daily, not knowing if I'll get a lot or a few. If I wait, deer or birds will eat the almonds.  Also, since my tree is over the driveway, if I don't pick up the nuts, I'll drive over them and crush them.

Sometimes I'll waste my time. I've developed the habit of stepping lightly on husks to feel if they have a nut in them before bending down, and I still get fooled.  Also, I'll see a nut that looks whole, turn it over and find that some critter has eaten the nut and left just the shell. 

There's always more almonds than I first see.  Almonds are well-camouflaged to blend in with the ground.  We have bark under part of the tree, and almonds look an awful lot like wood chips too. I usually move over the ground, then retrace my steps. I always find almonds on my trip back that I overlooked the first time. In fact, I always find more almonds even when I'm rechecking the driveway, where they don't blend in at all. I simply miss them, mistaking them for empty husks or not even seeing them. 

My almond hunting technique is a metaphor for pursuing any creative endeavor: painting, knitting, cake decorating, photographing, or in my case, writing. 

You have to work at it daily (or close to daily) if you want to accomplish a lot. You have to keep at it, or your ideas will vanish before you can use them.

You have to be willing to waste your time, or you wont risk anything in your work. Sometimes your brilliant idea will be not so brilliant. Sometimes I come back to yesterday's writing and realize I have to cut a whole day's work. Knitters I know sometimes have to unravel.  Photographers find their shots less inspired than they'd hoped.

Finally,  I like the notion that if you keep looking, you'll find more material, just as there are more almonds than first visible.  Ideas for creative work are all around; you just have to look. I think a lot of writers have only a few great subjects they explore.  For example, Jane Austen often wrote about the foibles and trials of the English gentry. going over that ground again and again, always finding more ideas to shed light on her main subject. According to Wikipedia, Monet painted over 250 pictures of water lilies, spending much of the last 30 years of his life on them. Going to the same part of his garden over and over, he found inspiration.

It's work to gather and prepare almonds. But when you peel off the husks, crack the shells,  and eat the fresh nut inside, it's so worth it.