Aw nuts!

Pecans are a guaranteed autumn treat in southern Louisiana. Autumn would come along, the warmth of summer slowly drifted away and became chill. The days were shorter and school was in session. After school Mom would check our homework and send us out back to gather pecans in buckets or bowls. We had a tree and all of our nearby neighbors had trees. So those of us who had feet to walk, walked. And we stepped out, crunching leaves beneath our shoes and gathered up pecans. We checked them over looking  for rot or the appearance of squirrel bites. If it was whole and intact we clunked them into our buckets.

If not we played with them, chunking them against trees or tossing them playfully at one another.

And we'd go inside after a good haul and place the loads of pecans on the kitchen counter and every autumn mom would say she was going to use them for pecan pie but every autumn we would end up eating them plain. Some times I would crack them open with my teeth and Mom would say "Rhea go get the nut cracker," and smile or elbow me playfully. But I would catch her doing the same and get a good chuckle. Opening pecans with your own mouth is not a brilliant idea. Trust me. It makes your jaws sore and then sometimes the nasty bitter part of the nut gets caught in your teeth and you taste it forever. 

In Ohio the thing to gather from trees: Buckeyes. Michael says they aren't so good. I will take his word for it.