Our new house has a large pecan tree right in the middle of the backyard. The tree has its good points: it makes the backyard nice and shady in the summer, and is probably a significant factor in our air conditioning costs. It also has its bad points: it’s a leaner (probably sprouted on its own near the garage, and had to reach for sunlight), and it’s messy. It drops leaves and nuts, and this year pecan trees across Texas had a particularly bad infestation of webworms, meaning caterpillers and their droppings all over the deck and furniture. The pecan hulls badly stained our deck (which is less than a year old) as well; in fact, I spent the last couple of days staining the whole thing dark brown to cover the mess.

It’s been very gusty here recently, causing a great hail of pecans. Caution must be taken when sitting in the back yard, as one could be struck at any time. The sound of a pecan hitting the deck after falling from the top of the tree is startling; I won’t take my laptop out there, or even my phone.

But here’s another reason why I like the tree: just now I went out with a nutcracker, and for about 15 minutes, ate every pecan that fell from the tree. I actually got full, and those pecans were the best, freshest (obviously) nuts I’ve ever eaten. Delicious.