Thursday, September 27, 2012

Mom, I Found Some Cactuses! Rural Thursday

Last weekend our neighbors were out of town, so I stopped by to check on their sweet lamb and make sure he had plenty of water and the fence was still on.  Pierce came along with me.
 While I was busy checking Jacob the Lamb's water, Pierce yelled, "Mom, I found some cactuses!"  I came over to investigate. 
 After explaining the plural of cactus, I told Pierce about how my grandparents had a chesnut tree in their front yard when I was little.  I showed him how to find the chesnut inside all the prickliness.
 We took a few back home, so that Pierce and his brothers could try them.  I told them about the tradition of roasting chesnuts during the holidays.  These had a few worms, so we had to work around that.  But Pierce really enjoyed getting to try his first chesnut.
It's Rural Thursday!  Time for you to link up your tales of the rural life with Nancy from A Rural Journal and myself.  Please copy the code beneath the button and paste it into your blog post.  Then come back and link up your url in the linky.  Don't forget to visit and comment on the blogs of at least 5 other participants today! 

47 comments:

  1. The CrankySeptember 27, 2012 at 1:45 AM

    Oh yum, I LOVE chestnuts!

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  2. AnonymousSeptember 27, 2012 at 7:05 AM

    How sweet! So much to learn for the little guys and it won't be long until they are singing that old Christmas song.

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  3. The Farmers DaughterSeptember 27, 2012 at 7:10 AM

    What a wonderful lesson for your boys! You're such a good Mom! And, I learned something, too--I've never seen chestnuts!

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  4. AnonymousSeptember 27, 2012 at 7:25 AM

    I would never have guess that there were chestnuts in those prickly fuzzy balls.

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  5. Buttons ThoughtsSeptember 27, 2012 at 7:28 AM

    I have never tasted Chestnuts alas there are none on the farm but we have an abundant supply of black walnuts.
    Love the lamb> B

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  6. Tanya BreeseSeptember 27, 2012 at 7:32 AM

    we had a chestnut tree at our last house and dang, they ARE prickly!

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  7. Vores haveSeptember 27, 2012 at 7:38 AM

    Nice fall pics you show:)
    Hanne Bente

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  8. JillSeptember 27, 2012 at 7:50 AM

    How fun to have "real" chestnuts! Great job, Lisa!

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  9. BarbaraSeptember 27, 2012 at 8:17 AM

    We have these all over our yard and at the park. My son treats them like balls. I have no idea how to eat them, but I'm going to have to try.

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  10. Grandma BonnieSeptember 27, 2012 at 8:17 AM

    What a neat lesson for your boys. That brings back memories. When my sisters and I were walking through a field to a friends house we ran a cross some cactus and thought it would be neat to bring them home. Needless to say we were covered in tiny spines by the time were arrived home. I hope you have a great day.

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  11. tiarastantrumsSeptember 27, 2012 at 8:51 AM

    aww - I used to love to dig out the 'buckeye' when I was a child!

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  12. carol l mckennaSeptember 27, 2012 at 9:12 AM

    Love coming to your blog ~ Life seems lovely there ~ not perfect I am sure ~ welcome to life! ~ Handsome 'dude' photos and fun post ~ (A Creative Harbor)

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  13. AnonymousSeptember 27, 2012 at 9:35 AM

    Well you not only taught your son about Cactus...but me too!!! I didn't even know about chestnuts inside them!! Too funny.
    Laurie @ prideinphotos

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  14. EG CameraGirlSeptember 27, 2012 at 9:43 AM

    I don't believe I would recognize the differences between a chestnut and a horse chestnut, which we have tons of here. The squirrels LOVE them.

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  15. UnknownSeptember 27, 2012 at 9:46 AM

    Hi Lisa, well, I learned something new today too! After all this time, and eating them, I didn't know where or how they grew. Thank God for blogging! Lol. Thanks for sharing!
    Luv

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  16. TexWisGirlSeptember 27, 2012 at 9:46 AM

    i've never seen or tasted a chestnut. :)

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  17. Are We There Yet!September 27, 2012 at 9:53 AM

    I miss having our own chestnuts. When we moved from 100 acres to less than one, we gave up a lot of things I now miss. But..... we have a lot less work.

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  18. TexanSeptember 27, 2012 at 10:06 AM

    We planted 6 chestnut trees this last spring. I mail ordered them. They were just little sticks when they arrived but so far 4 have lived!

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  19. An Apel a DaySeptember 27, 2012 at 10:11 AM

    I think it makes it so special to eat when they find it themselves. So yummy!

    I love that lamb.

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  20. Tina Fariss BarbourSeptember 27, 2012 at 10:18 AM

    You gave the boys a great lesson! I can't eat chestnuts (allergic), but I think they're very pretty.

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  21. LeoviSeptember 27, 2012 at 10:33 AM

    I love chestnuts, beautiful pictures. Greetings.

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  22. NancySeptember 27, 2012 at 11:03 AM

    I don't think I've ever seen chestnuts in the husk (if that's the right term?) I learned something too. :)

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  23. Valerie BoersmaSeptember 27, 2012 at 11:14 AM

    I've always loved chestnuts. We don't have a chestnut tree, but I scrounge them from people in town who do. They look pretty in bowls, set out as decorations too. It's cute that Pierce thought they were cactuses!

    Lisa-I linked up with you today!! :)

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  24. SandySeptember 27, 2012 at 11:40 AM

    Yummy...I love chestnuts. How cute that he thought it was cactus.

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  25. Kranky GrannySeptember 27, 2012 at 11:42 AM

    Second time today I have seen a post on these chestnuts. I have always known them as buckeyes so I had to go to google. Learned that they look similar but are not the same. I have never seen them in this prickly layer before though.

    learned something new today.

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  26. AnonymousSeptember 27, 2012 at 11:48 AM

    Lisa,

    Thanks for coming by. I love your "cactuses" Would absolutely love to have some roasted chestnuts. They are delicious.

    Yael from Home Garden Diggers

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  27. Debby@Just BreatheSeptember 27, 2012 at 12:39 PM

    What a cute little lamb. I had no clue about how the chestnuts arrive. I am learning along with Pierce!

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  28. AnonymousSeptember 27, 2012 at 12:57 PM

    What a fun discovery to share together.

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  29. KarenSeptember 27, 2012 at 1:22 PM

    Oh wow, what a find! I haven't seen those since I was a kid!

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  30. LmkazmierczakSeptember 27, 2012 at 2:43 PM

    Had a chestnut tree growing up....always had to pick them up before mowing the lawn♪♪

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  31. Chatty CroneSeptember 27, 2012 at 4:35 PM

    You really are one great mom.

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  32. Lexie Loo, Lily, Liam & Dylan TooSeptember 27, 2012 at 4:45 PM

    That's so cool! Always a learning experience with kids!

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  33. EllieSeptember 27, 2012 at 4:57 PM

    What a wonderful lesson for your boys - I can imagine that they loved it :))

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  34. Liz MaysSeptember 27, 2012 at 7:35 PM

    Now that is just plain fun! I'm glad they found the "cactus."

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  35. CarlettaSeptember 27, 2012 at 7:50 PM

    Reading the comments as I scrolled down it always amazes me how others have never experienced some of the things that we ourselves take for granted. :)
    Growing up we had a huge chestnut tree on our property. My Dad used to shell them for us. I loved them. I can sense the taste of them just thinking about it.
    I love that Pierce compared them to a cactus - priceless.

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  36. Sunnybrook FarmSeptember 27, 2012 at 7:57 PM

    Glad that I saw this, I put some in the refrigerator last week and I need to plant them. I planted some a couple of years ago and now 2 of them have really grown beside our driveway. They can be a messy tree but I do like the nuts as do all of the animals. They are wormy though but a little extra protein is good I guess.

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  37. UnknownSeptember 27, 2012 at 8:49 PM

    How fun!

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  38. AngelaSeptember 27, 2012 at 9:27 PM

    Cool! I remember finding a chestnut tree when I was younger. We went crazy and were eating them right off the ground. I probably ate the worms! lol Who knows? lol

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  39. NancySeptember 27, 2012 at 10:34 PM

    Thanks for hosting...love the story about the chestnuts. Would love to hear how you roasted them too. I'm a new follower, looking forward to more posts!

    Nancy at livininthegreen.blogspot.com

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  40. Tweedles -- that's meSeptember 28, 2012 at 12:28 AM

    We have those chestnuts too!
    And that sheep- we saw one like it at the wool festival last weekend!
    so many interesting things that Mother Earth shares with us,
    love
    tweedles

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  41. Eat To LiveSeptember 28, 2012 at 10:08 AM

    I need to buy some chestnuts. I love them roasted. When we were kids, we had a coal furnace and would roast them on the registers.

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  42. Marie September 28, 2012 at 2:04 PM

    I've never eaten or seen a chestnut. Your boys have such wonderful adventures!

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  43. Kerri FarleySeptember 28, 2012 at 4:02 PM

    How Fun!

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  44. Self SagacitySeptember 30, 2012 at 2:44 AM

    that is rural alright. a fun meme to see!

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  45. AnonymousSeptember 30, 2012 at 9:11 PM

    Too cute, love his comment... are these the edible ones??

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  46. AngelaOctober 2, 2012 at 12:15 PM

    Can't join your rural blog hop, since we farm right in the city, but we used to farm in rural Oregon before moving to Portland, so I'm a rural girl at heart. :). What a handsome Jacob. :)

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  47. jp@A Green RidgeOctober 3, 2012 at 3:06 PM

    Nice lesson, Mom! Learning time is so much fun with kids!...:)JP

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Thanks for taking the time to comment. I love hearing from my readers!