Nature At It's Best

We have a few rather large chestnut trees on our property. One of the trees is right beside our home. It is such a beautiful tree in all its various stages of change.  In the spring, it is beautiful with green leaves and white bloom.

Later the bloom produce the chestnut burrs themselves. They are green in the early stages of growth.

The burrs are round and grow in circumference. As they get larger, the chestnut begins to develop inside the sharp exterior.

 The burr is very sharp. The deer use their feet to tear into the burrs to get the chestnuts out.

In the fall, the chestnut burrs turn brown as they begin to open up and spill the chestnuts onto the ground.  The chestnuts in this burr did not develop. The one that did develop was rather large.

Sometimes the burrs fall and then open. Other times the burrs stay attached to the tree and open to release the chestnuts.

I enjoy the chestnuts but we have to beat the deer to them. Deer love chestnuts. I personally enjoy my chestnuts raw.  Our youngest daughter enjoys hers boiled or roasted. Our oldest daughter can eat them raw, boiled or roasted. They eat them as soon as they fall on the ground.