Aw Nuts

Many of you know about my involvement with The American Chestnut Foundation. I started an experimental Chestnut orchard two years ago in the hopes of being one small cog in the large gear of developing a blight resistant American Chestnut strain. My wife Jennifer and I with the help of several friends planted 200 nuts. Only a little over half of those germinated, probably due to improper storage over the winter. I've included a photo of the tallest result of that planting that is almost five feet tall already. The grower who supplied the nuts got his storage system corrected and provided replacement nuts for the ones that never came up. He will do so again this year and that will probably be the last attempt to get all 200 spots showing a viable tree. In a few years our trees will be intentionally exposed to the blight and the reality is that most of them will die as a result. I know; you're thinking "Nuts"; right? All this time and energy to produce a bunch of dry,brittle, dead trees worth nothing more than a bit of fire wood kindling.

The good news is that there's a pretty good chance that a few (10% or less) of the trees will show resistance to the blight and produce nuts carrying the genetic properties of the parent tree and providing seed for the next generation. As with all our endeavors, only our Maker knows the outcome. Our orchard puts me in mind of the valley of dry bones which the prophet Ezekiel speaks of in the Book named for him. Perhaps out of the dry bones of trees that don't make it will come a rattling that comes to life and helps reestablish the wonderful trees the value of which my father and grandfather often spoke. Is it nuts to think that life can come from something dying? Isn't that what always is required? Almost from the time of the first Schoonovers in this country a common name in the family was Ezekiel. I can't help but think that may be a sign.