This fall we spent an afternoon as a family gathering hickory nuts off the ground. They aren't for snacking, though. We're taking them to plant somewhere new.
Hickories are slow-growing, long-lived trees, and the nuts feed squirrels, deer, birds, and plenty of other wildlife. Planting them now is a gift to whoever walks that ground years from now, and it fits right in with what we try to do on the farm: leave the land healthier and more diverse than we found it.
It's also just a good way to spend an afternoon with the kids, eyes on the ground and pockets full. Some of the best farm work doesn't feel like work at all.