Texture Against The Sky

September 20, 2025

The end of summer and the leaflets of Black Walnut trees (Juglans nigra) are one by one turning yellow and dropping to the ground. Also dropping to the ground are the “nuts” which are not true nuts but are actually drupes. What a surprise to discover that.

Something that I really enjoy about these trees is the beautiful texture, the gorgeous patterns, that they create against the sky. It’s particularly lovely at this time of year before many of those yellow leaves have dropped to the ground.

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Published by

Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.

2 thoughts on “Texture Against The Sky”

  1. I could not agree more passionately. My new home outside Pittsburgh (after Greene County VA) has towering black walnut trees rising from far below our yard. A great, evocative pleasure is watching changing filigree of their canopy against the skies at all hours.

    1. Hi Julie! Great to hear from you! Though we do have to put up with the juglone that the tree produces making it difficult for many plants to survive around the trees, I do thoroughly enjoy all the many other aspects of these trees, even the pattern of their bark. I sure do hope you are enjoying your new home in Pennsylvania, a state where I have very deep roots!
      So very glad that you read my posts!
      Bren

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