Into the Guts...of the Black Walnuts

I picked up 3 bags of black walnuts at my son's house last week, and put them aside. Bad idea. By the time I took them downstairs this afternoon, I had a few problems.

1. Mold had taken over in 2 of the bags.
2. If mold wasn't on them, there was black rot and mushiness.
3. I bought some cheap plastic gloves at Dollar Tree (100 for a dollar), but they were so cheap that when I dug into the black/green outer covering, the gloves just shredded. So, my fingers turned brown from the inky liquid.

I put them on a garbage sack on our patio table to dry out. I sure hope my squirrels appreciate my effort.

P.S. The nuts always remind me of my Grandpa Jack and my mother. My grandpa collected the nuts, and cracked them for my mom. The meat itself is really quite bitter, but my mom made one cake that called for them, and it was delicious.